perf(delete): batch-commit remote-only file deletion

Follow-up to the push-all batching work: batch-deleting remote-only
files via the sync status panel's checkbox multi-select was still N
separate commits (SyncStatusView.performRemoteDeletion looped
gitService.deleteFile once per file).

- Add optional GitServiceInterface.deleteBatch, mirroring pushBatch.
  GitHub/Gitea implement it via the git blob->tree->commit->ref Data
  API, reusing resolveGitHubStyleBaseTree/resolveBaseTree and
  commitGitHubStyleTree (widened its tree-item sha type to
  string | null -- a null sha removes that path from the resulting
  tree, GitHub's way of expressing a delete at the tree level).
  GitLab implements it via the same Commits API endpoint pushBatch
  already uses, with action: 'delete' entries.
- SyncStatusView.performRemoteDeletion now calls deleteBatch once per
  chunk (MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE, reused from the push work) when the
  provider supports it; a failed chunk marks every path in it as
  failed rather than dropping results silently. The original per-file
  loop is preserved verbatim as performRemoteDeletionSequential, the
  fallback for providers without deleteBatch.

Local deletion is unaffected -- it's a local vault operation, not a
git commit.

Evidence: npx eslint . -> 0 errors; npm run build -> clean;
npx vitest run -> 339/339 passed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: ClaudiaFang

feature_list.json

@@ -89,6 +89,14 @@
       "dependencies": [],
       "status": "done",
       "evidence": "npx eslint . -> 0 errors; npm run build -> clean; npx vitest run -> 330/330 passed; consolidated onto PR #51"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "feat-012",
+      "name": "perf(delete): batch-commit remote-only file deletion",
+      "description": "Follow-up to feat-011: batch-deleting remote-only files via the sync status panel's checkbox multi-select was still N separate commits (SyncStatusView.performRemoteDeletion looped gitService.deleteFile per file). Added optional GitServiceInterface.deleteBatch, mirroring pushBatch: GitHub/Gitea via the git blob->tree->commit->ref Data API (a tree entry with sha:null removes that path); GitLab via the same Commits API actions array used for pushBatch, with action:'delete'. SyncStatusView.performRemoteDeletion now calls deleteBatch once (chunked at MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE) when the provider supports it, falling back to the original sequential per-file performRemoteDeletionSequential otherwise",
+      "dependencies": ["feat-011"],
+      "status": "done",
+      "evidence": "npx eslint . -> 0 errors; npm run build -> clean; npx vitest run -> 339/339 passed; consolidated onto PR #51"
     }
   ],
   "_evidenceStyle": "Keep evidence to one line: commit hash + short pointer (e.g. 'Commit abc1234 - added X, tests pass'). Debugging narrative and design discussion belong in the commit message, not this file."

progress.md

@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ Completed work is archived in [archive/](./archive/), one file per calendar mont
 
 ## Current State
 
-**Last Updated:** 2026-07-14 10:10
+**Last Updated:** 2026-07-14 10:30
 **Session ID:** current
-**Active Feature:** feat-011 (perf: batch-commit push-all + SHA-based diffing) — done, lint/build/test all green. Previous active item (issue #78 delete-remote-only-file fix) still awaiting user re-test after rebuild.
+**Active Feature:** feat-012 (perf: batch-commit remote-only file deletion) — done, lint/build/test all green. feat-011 (push-all batching) also done this session. Previous active item (issue #78 delete-remote-only-file fix) still awaiting user re-test after rebuild.
 
 ## Status
 
@@ -44,15 +44,25 @@ Completed work is archived in [archive/](./archive/), one file per calendar mont
   - Pull path (`pullAllFiles`) intentionally untouched — out of scope, still needs full remote content regardless of sha comparison.
   - Not yet committed as of this note — pending commit onto `claude/fix-directory-symlink-pull-260713`.
 
+- [x] feat-012: perf(delete): batch-commit remote-only file deletion. User asked whether batch-deleting remote-only files (checkbox multi-select in the sync status panel) was also one commit; it wasn't (`performRemoteDeletion` looped `gitService.deleteFile` per file). Applied the same batching pattern as feat-011:
+  1. New optional `GitServiceInterface.deleteBatch?(paths, branch, commitMessage)`, mirroring `pushBatch?`. No result payload (deletes don't produce a new sha to report back).
+  2. `GitHubService`/`GiteaService.deleteBatch` reuse `resolveGitHubStyleBaseTree`/`resolveBaseTree` + `commitGitHubStyleTree` (widened `commitGitHubStyleTree`'s tree-item `sha` type to `string | null` — a `null` sha removes that path from the resulting tree, which is how GitHub's Git Data API expresses a delete at the tree level).
+  3. `GitLabService.deleteBatch` reuses the same Commits API endpoint as `pushBatch`, with `action: 'delete'` entries (no `content`/`encoding`).
+  4. `src/ui/SyncStatusView.ts`'s `performRemoteDeletion` now calls `deleteBatch` once per chunk (`MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE`, reused from feat-011) when the provider supports it, updating progress per-file during a fast local pass before the grouped network call — same UX pattern as push. The original per-file loop was extracted verbatim into `performRemoteDeletionSequential`, used as the fallback when a provider has no `deleteBatch` (e.g. future Bitbucket). A failed chunk marks every path in it as failed (kept in `fileStatuses`/`selectedFiles`, not silently dropped); earlier successful chunks stay deleted.
+  - Local deletion (`performLocalDeletion`) untouched — pure local vault operation, nothing to batch.
+  - Added `deleteBatch` tests to `github-service.test.ts`/`gitea-service.test.ts`/`gitlab-service.test.ts` (happy path, empty-array short-circuit) and new `SyncStatusView.test.ts` cases (grouped call, whole-chunk-failure, fallback when `deleteBatch` is absent). Existing vaultFolder-prefix-stripping and real-error-message tests still pass unchanged against the fallback path.
+  - Evidence: `npx eslint .` → 0 errors; `npm run build` → clean; `npx vitest run` → 339/339 passed.
+  - Not yet committed as of this note — pending commit onto `claude/fix-directory-symlink-pull-260713`.
+
 ### What's In Progress
 
 - Nothing else actively in progress.
 
 ### What's Next
 
 1. Get user confirmation that delete now works (or a new detailed error message) after they rebuild/reload with the latest push (issue #78).
-2. Manually verify feat-011 in Obsidian if possible: push-all on a mixed vault should produce one new commit containing only changed/new files.
-3. Issue #37 (Bitbucket provider support, feat-010) — large, was deferred until #38 (i18n) landed. Now unblocked. Its `GitServiceInterface` implementation should simply omit `pushBatch` and use the existing per-file fallback.
+2. Manually verify feat-011/feat-012 in Obsidian if possible: push-all and batch-delete on a mixed vault should each produce exactly one new commit.
+3. Issue #37 (Bitbucket provider support, feat-010) — large, was deferred until #38 (i18n) landed. Now unblocked. Its `GitServiceInterface` implementation should simply omit `pushBatch`/`deleteBatch` and use the existing per-file fallbacks.
 4. Re-sync against `gh issue list --repo firstsun-dev/git-files-sync --state open`. Remaining genuinely-unstarted issues as of this session: #47 (regex ignore lists), #45 (SonarQube findings), #37 (Bitbucket), #28 (non-engineering: community visibility).
 5. PR #51 is large (8+ issues' worth of changes now). If the user wants to review/merge it before more work piles on, flag this rather than continuing to add commits indefinitely.
 

src/services/git-service-base.ts

@@ -299,7 +299,10 @@ export abstract class BaseGitService {
         branch: string,
         baseTreeSha: string,
         latestCommitSha: string,
-        treeItems: Array<{ path: string; mode: string; type: 'blob'; sha: string }>,
+        // A null sha removes that path from the resulting tree — how a batch
+        // delete is expressed at the tree level (mode/type are still required
+        // fields on the entry but are otherwise irrelevant for a deletion).
+        treeItems: Array<{ path: string; mode: string; type: 'blob'; sha: string | null }>,
         message: string
     ): Promise<string> {
         const treeResp = await this.safeRequest(`${base}/git/trees`, 'POST', { base_tree: baseTreeSha, tree: treeItems });

src/services/git-service-interface.ts

@@ -66,6 +66,14 @@ export interface GitServiceInterface {
      */
     pushBatch?(items: BatchPushItem[], branch: string, commitMessage: string): Promise<BatchPushResult[]>;
     deleteFile(path: string, branch: string, commitMessage: string): Promise<void>;
+    /**
+     * Delete many files in a single commit. Optional: only providers with a way
+     * to write multiple changes atomically implement it; callers must fall back
+     * to sequential deleteFile calls when it's absent (mirrors pushBatch?). Must
+     * be atomic: on failure it throws rather than partially deleting, so the
+     * caller can mark every path in the attempted batch as failed.
+     */
+    deleteBatch?(paths: string[], branch: string, commitMessage: string): Promise<void>;
     getRepoGitignores(branch: string): Promise<string[]>;
     /**
      * Fetches a blob's content directly by its git SHA (from a GitTreeEntry),

src/services/gitea-service.ts

@@ -153,6 +153,21 @@ export class GiteaService extends BaseGitService implements GitServiceInterface
         await this.safeRequest(url, 'DELETE', body);
     }
 
+    async deleteBatch(paths: string[], branch: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
+        if (paths.length === 0) return;
+        const base = this.getGitDataApiBase();
+        const { latestCommitSha, baseTreeSha } = await this.resolveBaseTree(branch);
+
+        const treeItems = paths.map(path => ({
+            path: this.getFullPath(path),
+            mode: '100644',
+            type: 'blob' as const,
+            sha: null,
+        }));
+
+        await this.commitGitHubStyleTree(base, branch, baseTreeSha, latestCommitSha, treeItems, message);
+    }
+
     async testConnection(branch: string): Promise<ConnectionTestResult> {
         try {
             const url = `${this.baseUrl}/api/v1/repos/${this.owner}/${this.repo}`;

src/services/github-service.ts

@@ -159,6 +159,21 @@ export class GitHubService extends BaseGitService implements GitServiceInterface
         await this.safeRequest(url, 'DELETE', body);
     }
 
+    async deleteBatch(paths: string[], branch: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
+        if (paths.length === 0) return;
+        const base = this.getGitDataApiBase();
+        const { latestCommitSha, baseTreeSha } = await this.resolveGitHubStyleBaseTree(branch);
+
+        const treeItems = paths.map(path => ({
+            path: this.getFullPath(path),
+            mode: '100644',
+            type: 'blob' as const,
+            sha: null,
+        }));
+
+        await this.commitGitHubStyleTree(base, branch, baseTreeSha, latestCommitSha, treeItems, message);
+    }
+
     async testConnection(branch: string): Promise<ConnectionTestResult> {
         try {
             const url = `https://api.github.com/repos/${this.owner}/${this.repo}`;

src/services/gitlab-service.ts

@@ -137,6 +137,16 @@ export class GitLabService extends BaseGitService implements GitServiceInterface
         await this.safeRequest(url, 'DELETE', body);
     }
 
+    async deleteBatch(paths: string[], branch: string, message: string): Promise<void> {
+        if (paths.length === 0) return;
+        const encodedProjectId = encodeURIComponent(this.projectId);
+        const url = `${this.baseUrl}/api/v4/projects/${encodedProjectId}/repository/commits`;
+
+        const actions = paths.map(path => ({ action: 'delete', file_path: this.getFullPath(path) }));
+
+        await this.safeRequest(url, 'POST', { branch, commit_message: message, actions });
+    }
+
     async testConnection(branch: string): Promise<ConnectionTestResult> {
         const encodedProjectId = encodeURIComponent(this.projectId);
         try {

src/ui/SyncStatusView.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { isBinaryPath, contentsEqual } from '../utils/path';
 import { readLocalSymlinkTarget } from '../utils/symlink';
 import { gitBlobSha } from '../utils/git-blob-sha';
 import { type GitTreeEntry } from '../services/git-service-interface';
+import { MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE } from '../services/git-service-base';
 import { t, type TranslationKey } from '../i18n';
 
 export const SYNC_STATUS_VIEW_TYPE = 'sync-status-view';
@@ -45,6 +46,10 @@ export class SyncStatusView extends ItemView {
     private renderView(): void {
         const container = this.containerEl.children[1] as HTMLElement;
         if (!container) return;
+
+        const prevListEl = container.querySelector<HTMLElement>('.ssv-list');
+        const scrollTop = prevListEl?.scrollTop ?? 0;
+
         container.empty();
 
         this.renderInfoStrip(container);
@@ -61,6 +66,8 @@ export class SyncStatusView extends ItemView {
         } else {
             this.renderFileList(listEl);
         }
+
+        listEl.scrollTop = scrollTop;
     }
 
     private renderProgressBar(container: HTMLElement): void {
@@ -775,20 +782,62 @@ export class SyncStatusView extends ItemView {
     }
 
     private async performRemoteDeletion(remote: FileStatus[], total: number, localCount: number, prog: Notice, errors: { path: string, message: string }[]): Promise<void> {
+        if (remote.length === 0) return;
+
+        // s.path is a vault-relative path (may carry the vaultFolder prefix); the
+        // git service expects a path relative to rootPath only, so strip
+        // vaultFolder first, same as every other gitService call site.
+        const entries = remote.map(s => ({ status: s, repoPath: this.plugin.getNormalizedPath(s.path) }));
+
+        if (!this.plugin.gitService.deleteBatch) {
+            await this.performRemoteDeletionSequential(entries, total, localCount, prog, errors);
+            return;
+        }
+
         let cur = localCount;
-        for (const s of remote) {
+        for (const e of entries) {
             cur++;
-            prog.setMessage(t('syncStatus.progress.deletingRemote', { current: cur, total, path: s.path }));
+            prog.setMessage(t('syncStatus.progress.deletingRemote', { current: cur, total, path: e.status.path }));
+        }
+
+        const branch = this.plugin.settings.branch;
+        for (let i = 0; i < entries.length; i += MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE) {
+            const chunk = entries.slice(i, i + MAX_BATCH_PUSH_SIZE);
             try {
-                // s.path is a vault-relative path (may carry the vaultFolder prefix);
-                // the git service expects a path relative to rootPath only, so strip
-                // vaultFolder first, same as every other gitService call site.
-                const repoPath = this.plugin.getNormalizedPath(s.path);
-                await this.plugin.gitService.deleteFile(repoPath, this.plugin.settings.branch, `Delete ${repoPath}`);
-                this.fileStatuses.delete(s.path);
-                this.selectedFiles.delete(s.path);
-            } catch (e) {
-                errors.push({ path: s.path, message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) });
+                const message = `Delete ${chunk.length} file(s) from Obsidian`;
+                await this.plugin.gitService.deleteBatch(chunk.map(e => e.repoPath), branch, message);
+                for (const e of chunk) {
+                    this.fileStatuses.delete(e.status.path);
+                    this.selectedFiles.delete(e.status.path);
+                }
+            } catch (err) {
+                // Atomic per-provider failure: none of this chunk's files were
+                // actually deleted, so every path in it is failed, not dropped.
+                const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+                for (const e of chunk) errors.push({ path: e.status.path, message });
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Provider doesn't support a batch/atomic multi-file delete commit —
+     * fall back to the original sequential per-file delete. */
+    private async performRemoteDeletionSequential(
+        entries: Array<{ status: FileStatus; repoPath: string }>,
+        total: number,
+        localCount: number,
+        prog: Notice,
+        errors: { path: string, message: string }[]
+    ): Promise<void> {
+        let cur = localCount;
+        for (const e of entries) {
+            cur++;
+            prog.setMessage(t('syncStatus.progress.deletingRemote', { current: cur, total, path: e.status.path }));
+            try {
+                await this.plugin.gitService.deleteFile(e.repoPath, this.plugin.settings.branch, `Delete ${e.repoPath}`);
+                this.fileStatuses.delete(e.status.path);
+                this.selectedFiles.delete(e.status.path);
+            } catch (err) {
+                errors.push({ path: e.status.path, message: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err) });
             }
         }
     }

tests/services/gitea-service.test.ts

@@ -300,6 +300,35 @@ describe('GiteaService', () => {
         });
     });
 
+    describe('deleteBatch', () => {
+        it('returns and makes no requests for an empty path list', async () => {
+            await service.deleteBatch([], 'main', 'delete nothing');
+            expect(requestUrl).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        });
+
+        it('resolves branch via /branches/{branch}, then deletes N files in one commit', async () => {
+            vi.mocked(requestUrl)
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: { commit: { id: 'commit1' } } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse) // resolve branch
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: { tree: { sha: 'tree1' } } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)    // get commit
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 201, json: { sha: 'tree2' } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)              // create tree
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 201, json: { sha: 'commit2' } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)            // create commit
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: {} } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse);                           // update ref
+
+            await service.deleteBatch(['a.md'], 'main', 'Delete 1 file(s) from Obsidian');
+
+            const calls = vi.mocked(requestUrl).mock.calls.map(c => c[0] as RequestUrlParam);
+            expect(calls).toHaveLength(5);
+            expect(calls[0]?.url).toBe(`${baseUrl}/api/v1/repos/${owner}/${repo}/branches/main`);
+            expect(calls[1]?.url).toBe(`${baseUrl}/api/v1/repos/${owner}/${repo}/git/commits/commit1`);
+
+            const treeBody = JSON.parse(calls[2]?.body as string) as { tree: Array<{ path: string; sha: string | null }> };
+            expect(treeBody.tree).toEqual([{ path: 'a.md', mode: '100644', type: 'blob', sha: null }]);
+
+            expect(calls[4]?.method).toBe('PATCH');
+            expect(calls[4]?.url).toBe(`${baseUrl}/api/v1/repos/${owner}/${repo}/git/refs/heads/main`);
+        });
+    });
+
     describe('testConnection', () => {
         sharedTestConnection(() => service);
 

tests/services/github-service.test.ts

@@ -312,6 +312,40 @@ describe('GitHubService', () => {
         });
     });
 
+    describe('deleteBatch', () => {
+        it('returns and makes no requests for an empty path list', async () => {
+            await service.deleteBatch([], 'main', 'delete nothing');
+            expect(requestUrl).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        });
+
+        it('deletes N files in one commit via ref -> commit -> tree(sha:null) -> commit -> ref', async () => {
+            vi.mocked(requestUrl)
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: { object: { sha: 'commit1' } } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse) // get ref
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: { tree: { sha: 'tree1' } } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)      // get commit
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 201, json: { sha: 'tree2' } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)                // create tree
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 201, json: { sha: 'commit2' } } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse)              // create commit
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({ status: 200, json: {} } as unknown as RequestUrlResponse);                             // update ref
+
+            await service.deleteBatch(['a.md', 'b.md'], 'main', 'Delete 2 file(s) from Obsidian');
+
+            const calls = vi.mocked(requestUrl).mock.calls.map(c => c[0] as RequestUrlParam);
+            expect(calls).toHaveLength(5);
+
+            const treeBody = JSON.parse(calls[2]?.body as string) as { base_tree: string; tree: Array<{ path: string; mode: string; type: string; sha: string | null }> };
+            expect(treeBody.base_tree).toBe('tree1');
+            expect(treeBody.tree).toEqual([
+                { path: 'a.md', mode: '100644', type: 'blob', sha: null },
+                { path: 'b.md', mode: '100644', type: 'blob', sha: null },
+            ]);
+
+            const commitBody = JSON.parse(calls[3]?.body as string) as { message: string; tree: string; parents: string[] };
+            expect(commitBody).toEqual({ message: 'Delete 2 file(s) from Obsidian', tree: 'tree2', parents: ['commit1'] });
+
+            expect(calls[4]?.method).toBe('PATCH');
+            expect(JSON.parse(calls[4]?.body as string)).toEqual({ sha: 'commit2' });
+        });
+    });
+
     describe('testConnection', () => {
         sharedTestConnection(() => service);