fix(cli): never honor memory agent budgets from workspace scope

memory.agentMaxTurns and memory.agentTimeoutMinutes cap the turn count and wall-clock time of the auto-approved background memory agents that hold write access to the cross-project memory directory, and 0 disables each limit. A cloned repository could set them in .qwen/settings.json and remove those budgets. Add both keys to WORKSPACE_RESTRICTED_SETTINGS so workspace values are stripped with a warning like the other restricted keys, and state the allowed scopes in the setting descriptions. Closes #13477 Refs #13462
yiliang114 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026
commit 4e94eff7b41fa2289d220a4a0bf53d9e612f4dd0
diff --git a/docs/users/configuration/settings.md b/docs/users/configuration/settings.md
@@ -431,8 +431,8 @@ The bridge-availability and missing-bridge warning rules below describe direct t
 | `memory.enableTeamMemory`        | boolean | Enable a project memory tier shared with collaborators via the git-tracked `.qwen/team-memory/` directory. Writes to it are secret-scanned and reviewable in the git diff.                                                                                                                                                                          | `false` |
 | `memory.enableTeamMemorySync`    | boolean | When team memory is enabled, automatically commit, fast-forward-pull, and push the `.qwen/team-memory/` directory at session start so collaborators stay in sync. Requires a configured git upstream.                                                                                                                                               | `false` |
 | `memory.enableStructuredRecall`  | boolean | Switch memory recall from the flat `MEMORY.md` listing to the structured protocol (hierarchical memory tree, focused subtree, `search_memory` tool). While off, the background metadata migration is never scheduled, so the protocol costs no background model calls. Override with `QWEN_CODE_MEMORY_STRUCTURED_RECALL=0\|1`. Requires a restart. | `false` |
-| `memory.agentTimeoutMinutes`     | number  | Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); `0` disables the time limit.                                                                                                                                                               | unset   |
-| `memory.agentMaxTurns`           | number  | Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); `0` disables the turn limit.                                                                                                                                                                                    | unset   |
+| `memory.agentTimeoutMinutes`     | number  | Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); `0` disables the time limit. Configure in user or system settings.                                                                                                                         | unset   |
+| `memory.agentMaxTurns`           | number  | Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); `0` disables the turn limit. Configure in user or system settings.                                                                                                                                              | unset   |
 
 See [Memory](../features/memory) for details on how auto-memory works and how to use the `/memory`, `/remember`, and `/dream` commands.
 

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settings.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settings.test.ts
@@ -4335,7 +4335,9 @@ describe('Settings Loading and Merging', () => {
         workspacePayload[section][key] =
           key === 'allowedInsecureVoiceBaseUrls'
             ? ['http://voice.example/v1']
-            : true;
+            : key === 'agentMaxTurns' || key === 'agentTimeoutMinutes'
+              ? 0 // numeric budgets; 0 disables the limit, the value being guarded against
+              : true;
       }
       (fs.readFileSync as Mock).mockImplementation(
         (p: fs.PathOrFileDescriptor) => {
@@ -4415,6 +4417,60 @@ describe('Settings Loading and Merging', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('memory agent budget scope handling', () => {
+    it('is listed as workspace-restricted', () => {
+      expect(WORKSPACE_RESTRICTED_SETTING_KEYS).toContain(
+        'memory.agentMaxTurns',
+      );
+      expect(WORKSPACE_RESTRICTED_SETTING_KEYS).toContain(
+        'memory.agentTimeoutMinutes',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('honors the budgets from user scope, including 0 (limit disabled)', () => {
+      (mockFsExistsSync as Mock).mockReturnValue(true);
+      (fs.readFileSync as Mock).mockImplementation(
+        (p: fs.PathOrFileDescriptor) => {
+          if (p === USER_SETTINGS_PATH)
+            return JSON.stringify({
+              memory: { agentMaxTurns: 0, agentTimeoutMinutes: 0 },
+            });
+          return '{}';
+        },
+      );
+
+      const settings = loadSettings(MOCK_WORKSPACE_DIR);
+      expect(settings.merged.memory?.agentMaxTurns).toBe(0);
+      expect(settings.merged.memory?.agentTimeoutMinutes).toBe(0);
+    });
+
+    it('strips a workspace 0 and warns, per key', () => {
+      // `0` disables the turn and wall-clock budgets of the auto-approved,
+      // cross-project memory agents, so a cloned repository must not set it.
+      (mockFsExistsSync as Mock).mockReturnValue(true);
+      (fs.readFileSync as Mock).mockImplementation(
+        (p: fs.PathOrFileDescriptor) => {
+          if (p === MOCK_WORKSPACE_SETTINGS_PATH)
+            return JSON.stringify({
+              memory: { agentMaxTurns: 0, agentTimeoutMinutes: 0 },
+            });
+          return '{}';
+        },
+      );
+
+      const settings = loadSettings(MOCK_WORKSPACE_DIR);
+      expect(settings.merged.memory?.agentMaxTurns).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(settings.merged.memory?.agentTimeoutMinutes).toBeUndefined();
+      const warnings = getSettingsWarnings(settings);
+      expect(warnings.some((w) => w.includes('memory.agentMaxTurns'))).toBe(
+        true,
+      );
+      expect(
+        warnings.some((w) => w.includes('memory.agentTimeoutMinutes')),
+      ).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('named-workflows-only lock scope handling', () => {
     it('honors a workspace that turns the lock on', () => {
       (mockFsExistsSync as Mock).mockReturnValue(true);

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
@@ -2440,7 +2440,7 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         default: undefined as number | undefined,
         minimum: 0,
         description:
-          "Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); 0 disables the time limit. Useful for slow local models that need longer than the defaults.",
+          "Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); 0 disables the time limit. Useful for slow local models that need longer than the defaults. Configure in user or system settings.",
         showInDialog: false,
       },
       agentMaxTurns: {
@@ -2451,7 +2451,7 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         default: undefined as number | undefined,
         minimum: 0,
         description:
-          "Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); 0 disables the turn limit.",
+          "Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); 0 disables the turn limit. Configure in user or system settings.",
         showInDialog: false,
       },
       enableTeamMemory: {

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsUtils.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsUtils.ts
@@ -277,6 +277,8 @@ export function validateSettingValue(
  */
 export const WORKSPACE_RESTRICTED_SETTINGS = [
   { section: 'memory', key: 'mem0' },
+  { section: 'memory', key: 'agentMaxTurns' },
+  { section: 'memory', key: 'agentTimeoutMinutes' },
   { section: 'tools', key: 'executionSandbox' },
   { section: 'tools', key: 'workflowsEnabled' },
   { section: 'security', key: 'allowPrivateNetworkHooks' },

diff --git a/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json b/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json
@@ -1177,12 +1177,12 @@
           "default": true
         },
         "agentTimeoutMinutes": {
-          "description": "Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); 0 disables the time limit. Useful for slow local models that need longer than the defaults.",
+          "description": "Max runtime in minutes for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (2–5 minutes); 0 disables the time limit. Useful for slow local models that need longer than the defaults. Configure in user or system settings.",
           "type": "number",
           "minimum": 0
         },
         "agentMaxTurns": {
-          "description": "Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); 0 disables the turn limit.",
+          "description": "Max turns for background memory agents (extraction, dream, remember, skill review). Unset uses each agent's built-in default (5–8); 0 disables the turn limit. Configure in user or system settings.",
           "type": "number",
           "minimum": 0
         },