feat(cron): make cron tools opt-in via experimental settings

Change cron/loop tools from opt-out to opt-in. Cron tools are now
disabled by default and can be enabled via:
- settings.json: { "experimental": { "cron": true } }
- Environment variable: QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON=1

This ensures experimental features are explicitly enabled by users
who want to try them.

Co-authored-by: Qwen-Coder <qwen-coder@alibabacloud.com>

integration-tests/cron-tools.test.ts

@@ -14,13 +14,15 @@ describe('cron-tools', () => {
     if (rig) {
       await rig.cleanup();
     }
-    // Clean up env var if set by disable test
-    delete process.env['QWEN_CODE_DISABLE_CRON'];
+    // Clean up env vars
+    delete process.env['QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON'];
   });
 
-  it('should have cron tools registered', async () => {
+  it('should have cron tools registered when enabled via settings', async () => {
     rig = new TestRig();
-    await rig.setup('cron-tools-registered');
+    await rig.setup('cron-tools-registered', {
+      settings: { experimental: { cron: true } },
+    });
 
     const result = await rig.run(
       'Do you have access to tools called cron_create, cron_list, and cron_delete? Reply with just "yes" or "no".',
@@ -30,9 +32,37 @@ describe('cron-tools', () => {
     expect(result.toLowerCase()).toContain('yes');
   });
 
+  it('should have cron tools registered when enabled via env var', async () => {
+    rig = new TestRig();
+    await rig.setup('cron-tools-env-var');
+
+    process.env['QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON'] = '1';
+
+    const result = await rig.run(
+      'Do you have access to tools called cron_create, cron_list, and cron_delete? Reply with just "yes" or "no".',
+    );
+
+    validateModelOutput(result, null, 'cron tools via env var');
+    expect(result.toLowerCase()).toContain('yes');
+  });
+
+  it('should NOT have cron tools by default', async () => {
+    rig = new TestRig();
+    await rig.setup('cron-tools-disabled-by-default');
+
+    const result = await rig.run(
+      'Do you have access to a tool called cron_create? Reply with just "yes" or "no".',
+    );
+
+    validateModelOutput(result, null, 'cron disabled by default');
+    expect(result.toLowerCase()).toContain('no');
+  });
+
   it('should create, list, and delete a cron job in a single turn', async () => {
     rig = new TestRig();
-    await rig.setup('cron-create-list-delete');
+    await rig.setup('cron-create-list-delete', {
+      settings: { experimental: { cron: true } },
+    });
 
     const result = await rig.run(
       'Call cron_create with cron_expression "*/5 * * * *", prompt "test ping", recurring true. Then call cron_list. Then delete that job using cron_delete. Then call cron_list again. How many jobs remain? Reply with just the number.',
@@ -59,7 +89,9 @@ describe('cron-tools', () => {
 
   it('should create a one-shot (non-recurring) job', async () => {
     rig = new TestRig();
-    await rig.setup('cron-one-shot');
+    await rig.setup('cron-one-shot', {
+      settings: { experimental: { cron: true } },
+    });
 
     const result = await rig.run(
       'Do these steps: (1) Call cron_create with cron_expression "*/5 * * * *", prompt "one-shot test", recurring false. (2) Call cron_list. Is the job marked as recurring or one-shot? Remember the answer. (3) Delete all cron jobs. Reply with just "recurring" or "one-shot".',
@@ -81,23 +113,11 @@ describe('cron-tools', () => {
     validateModelOutput(result, 'one-shot', 'cron one-shot');
   });
 
-  it('should not have cron tools when QWEN_CODE_DISABLE_CRON=1', async () => {
-    rig = new TestRig();
-    await rig.setup('cron-disable-flag');
-
-    process.env['QWEN_CODE_DISABLE_CRON'] = '1';
-
-    const result = await rig.run(
-      'Do you have access to a tool called cron_create? Reply with just "yes" or "no".',
-    );
-
-    validateModelOutput(result, null, 'cron disable flag');
-    expect(result.toLowerCase()).toContain('no');
-  });
-
   it('should exit normally in -p mode when no cron jobs are created', async () => {
     rig = new TestRig();
-    await rig.setup('cron-no-jobs-exit');
+    await rig.setup('cron-no-jobs-exit', {
+      settings: { experimental: { cron: true } },
+    });
 
     // A normal -p call without cron should still exit quickly
     const result = await rig.run('What is 2+2? Reply with just the number.');

packages/cli/src/config/config.ts

@@ -1089,6 +1089,7 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
     maxSessionTurns:
       argv.maxSessionTurns ?? settings.model?.maxSessionTurns ?? -1,
     experimentalZedIntegration: argv.acp || argv.experimentalAcp || false,
+    cronEnabled: settings.experimental?.cron ?? false,
     listExtensions: argv.listExtensions || false,
     overrideExtensions: overrideExtensions || argv.extensions,
     noBrowser: !!process.env['NO_BROWSER'],

packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts

@@ -1594,9 +1594,20 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
     category: 'Experimental',
     requiresRestart: true,
     default: {},
-    description: 'Setting to enable experimental features',
+    description: 'Settings to enable experimental features.',
     showInDialog: false,
-    properties: {},
+    properties: {
+      cron: {
+        type: 'boolean',
+        label: 'Enable Cron/Loop Tools',
+        category: 'Experimental',
+        requiresRestart: true,
+        default: false,
+        description:
+          'Enable in-session cron/loop tools (experimental). When enabled, the model can create recurring prompts using cron_create, cron_list, and cron_delete tools. Can also be enabled via QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON=1 environment variable.',
+        showInDialog: true,
+      },
+    },
   },
 } as const satisfies SettingsSchema;
 

packages/cli/src/nonInteractiveCli.test.ts

@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ describe('runNonInteractive', () => {
       }),
       getExperimentalZedIntegration: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
       isInteractive: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
-      isCronDisabled: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+      isCronEnabled: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
       getCronScheduler: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(null),
     } as unknown as Config;
 

packages/cli/src/nonInteractiveCli.ts

@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ export async function runNonInteractive(
           currentMessages = [{ role: 'user', parts: toolResponseParts }];
         } else {
           // No more tool calls — check if cron jobs are keeping us alive
-          const scheduler = config.isCronDisabled()
+          const scheduler = !config.isCronEnabled()
             ? null
             : config.getCronScheduler();
           if (scheduler && scheduler.size > 0) {

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.test.tsx

@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ describe('useGeminiStream', () => {
         .mockReturnValue(contentGeneratorConfig),
       getMaxSessionTurns: vi.fn(() => 50),
       getArenaAgentClient: vi.fn(() => null),
-      isCronDisabled: vi.fn(() => true),
+      isCronEnabled: vi.fn(() => false),
       getCronScheduler: vi.fn(() => null),
     } as unknown as Config;
     mockOnDebugMessage = vi.fn();

packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useGeminiStream.ts

@@ -1643,7 +1643,7 @@ export const useGeminiStream = (
 
   // Start the scheduler on mount, stop on unmount
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (config.isCronDisabled()) return;
+    if (!config.isCronEnabled()) return;
     const scheduler = config.getCronScheduler();
     scheduler.start((job: { prompt: string }) => {
       cronQueueRef.current.push(job.prompt);

packages/core/src/config/config.ts

@@ -370,6 +370,7 @@ export interface ConfigParameters {
   maxSessionTurns?: number;
   sessionTokenLimit?: number;
   experimentalZedIntegration?: boolean;
+  cronEnabled?: boolean;
   listExtensions?: boolean;
   overrideExtensions?: string[];
   allowedMcpServers?: string[];
@@ -557,6 +558,7 @@ export class Config {
 
   private readonly cliVersion?: string;
   private readonly experimentalZedIntegration: boolean = false;
+  private readonly cronEnabled: boolean = false;
   private readonly chatRecordingEnabled: boolean;
   private readonly loadMemoryFromIncludeDirectories: boolean = false;
   private readonly importFormat: 'tree' | 'flat';
@@ -680,6 +682,7 @@ export class Config {
     this.sessionTokenLimit = params.sessionTokenLimit ?? -1;
     this.experimentalZedIntegration =
       params.experimentalZedIntegration ?? false;
+    this.cronEnabled = params.cronEnabled ?? false;
     this.listExtensions = params.listExtensions ?? false;
     this.overrideExtensions = params.overrideExtensions;
     this.noBrowser = params.noBrowser ?? false;
@@ -1687,8 +1690,10 @@ export class Config {
     return this.cronScheduler;
   }
 
-  isCronDisabled(): boolean {
-    return process.env['QWEN_CODE_DISABLE_CRON'] === '1';
+  isCronEnabled(): boolean {
+    // Cron is experimental and opt-in: enabled via settings or env var
+    if (process.env['QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON'] === '1') return true;
+    return this.cronEnabled;
   }
 
   getEnableRecursiveFileSearch(): boolean {
@@ -2211,7 +2216,7 @@ export class Config {
     }
 
     // Register cron tools unless disabled
-    if (!this.isCronDisabled()) {
+    if (this.isCronEnabled()) {
       await registerCoreTool(CronCreateTool, this);
       await registerCoreTool(CronListTool, this);
       await registerCoreTool(CronDeleteTool, this);

packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json

@@ -1445,9 +1445,15 @@
       }
     },
     "experimental": {
-      "description": "Setting to enable experimental features",
+      "description": "Settings to enable experimental features.",
       "type": "object",
-      "properties": {}
+      "properties": {
+        "cron": {
+          "description": "Enable in-session cron/loop tools (experimental). When enabled, the model can create recurring prompts using cron_create, cron_list, and cron_delete tools. Can also be enabled via QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_CRON=1 environment variable.",
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": false
+        }
+      }
     },
     "$version": {
       "type": "number",