Please add empty file context.

[omagoduck]

What specific problem does this solve?

Currently, if Roo wants to read a file and the file is empty, Roo says in the chat that the read tool didn't return any content from the file, and then it tries many other ways to read that file. However, the file is empty. So, if there is nothing in the file, please add a mechanism so that Roo understands properly that it is an empty file. Maybe add a mechanism to detect that the file is emptpy and add 'This file is empty' to the read result, or be more specific to the system prompt. But the first proposal is better in terms of context length and cost.

Additional context (optional)

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Roo Code Task Links (Optional)

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Request checklist

• I've searched existing Issues and Discussions for duplicates
• This describes a specific problem with clear impact and context

Interested in implementing this?

• Yes, I'd like to help implement this feature

Implementation requirements

• I understand this needs approval before implementation begins

How should this be solved? (REQUIRED if contributing, optional otherwise)

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How will we know it works? (Acceptance Criteria - REQUIRED if contributing, optional otherwise)

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[roomote]

I am working on implementing this enhancement. I will add a mechanism to detect empty files in the read_file tool and provide clear feedback when a file is empty, preventing Roo from attempting multiple read strategies unnecessarily.

[daniel-lxs]

Hi! I looked into this and it turns out the read_file tool already handles empty files correctly. It returns a notice like this when a file is empty:

<content/><notice>File is empty</notice>

This is implemented in readFileTool.ts (lines 524–526).

Could you let me know which model you're using when you run into this? It might be that the model is misunderstanding the empty <content/> tag and treating it as a failure instead of recognizing the "File is empty" message.

Knowing the model will help us figure out how to improve the prompt or the tool's output format.

[omagoduck]

Hi! I looked into this and it turns out the read_file tool already handles empty files correctly. It returns a notice like this when a file is empty:

No it doesn't

@daniel-lxs with gemini 2.5 family all models

I think your's said implemented solution is not working. Also make ti robust that, even if there is multiple line without a single word that also return empty file context.

[omagoduck]

Bro, your software mostly has fewer bugs on macOS, as I've seen from the community chat. But why is that? Windows is the most widely used operating system in the world. Most developers don't use Linux, and many don't like macOS. Additionally, not everyone can afford a Mac. Yet, developers seem to concentrate more on macOS. It's like 'like deserves like'—macOS feels luxurious, and priced luxurious, so it needs more support, huh? There are many more expensive and powerful computers of Windows than Mac. So, to whom are you saving your face?