[bug][alpha] WelcomeRecentFiles `formatPath()` ignores `maxLength` when the path has at most two segments

[bountyhunter713]

Project

ide

Description

WelcomeRecentFiles.tsx defines formatPath(path, maxLength = 60) to shorten long paths for the secondary label next to each recent project name.

After normalizing slashes, if normalized.length > maxLength, the function splits on / and:

• If parts.length <= 2, it returns the full normalized string, even when that string is far longer than maxLength.

So the maxLength parameter is only partially enforced. Deep paths that collapse to one or two segments (e.g. synthetic or unusual paths, or very long single segment names) can still produce an arbitrarily long display string and break the row layout.

This is not the same issue as bounty #25103 (misleading ~/ prefix for non-home paths). That issue targets semantic confusion from the ~/ heuristic; this one is unconditional failure to cap length in the parts.length <= 2 branch.

Single root cause: the early return for parts.length <= 2 does not apply any max-length truncation (ellipsis, middle-ellipsis, or tail-only) after the length check.

Error Message

Debug Logs

System Information

Cortex IDE alpha
OS: Windows (win32)
Component: src/components/cortex/WelcomeRecentFiles.tsx

Screenshots

Steps to Reproduce

1. Ensure a recent project entry whose stored path normalizes to two or fewer path segments but more than 60 characters total (e.g. a very long folder name under a drive root).
2. Open the Welcome page or Welcome tab where WelcomeRecentFiles is shown.
3. Observe the secondary path text for that row.

Expected Behavior

Displayed path respects maxLength (or equivalent UI constraint) in all branches, e.g. via ellipsis, middle truncation, or tail-only display.

Actual Behavior

Full normalized path may be shown past the intended cap when parts.length <= 2.

Additional Context

No response

[willkhinz]

I've got a surgical fix for this. Just running some quick local tests and will post the PR soon.

[willkhinz]

I have opened a Pull Request with the fix here: #38086

Thanks!

[echobt]

✅ Validated

DUPLICATE CHECK: While this issue has high similarity scores (0.75+) with older issues like #25604, #25862, and #25103, semantic comparison confirms this is NOT a duplicate. Those issues concern missing tooltips/title attributes (#25604, #25862) or misleading ~/ prefix semantics (#25103). This issue (#38075) identifies a distinct logic bug: the formatPath() function fails to enforce the maxLength parameter when a path has ≤2 segments.

VALIDATION:

1. Screenshot: URL returned 404, but code analysis independently confirms the bug.

2. Component Accessibility Verified:

   • WelcomeRecentFiles.tsx exists at src/components/cortex/WelcomeRecentFiles.tsx
   • Imported and rendered in src/pages/Welcome.tsx (lines 3, 145)
   • Welcome page accessible via /welcome route (defined in src/index.tsx)
   • Default landing page when no project is open

3. Bug Confirmed in Code:

   function formatPath(path: string, maxLength: number = 60): string {
     const normalized = path.replace(/\\/g, "/");
     if (normalized.length <= maxLength) return normalized;
     const parts = normalized.split("/").filter(Boolean);
     if (parts.length <= 2) return normalized;  // BUG: ignores maxLength
     return "~/" + parts.slice(-2).join("/");
   }

   When parts.length <= 2, the function returns the full normalized string even when it exceeds maxLength. This is a logic error where the early return bypasses length enforcement.

4. Real User Impact: A path like C:/VeryLongFolderNameThatExceedsSixtyCharacters with only 2 segments would display the full untruncated string, breaking the row layout.

5. Not a Feature Request: This is a bug in existing truncation logic - the maxLength parameter is documented to limit path length but fails in this edge case.