Preserve overwriteSettings when template project settings are merged after user repo settings

[jeffreybulanadi]

Problem

When a repository uses overwriteSettings in .github/AL-Go-Settings.json to clear or replace an array property (such as appDependencyProbingPaths), a subsequent template-managed settings source (AL-Go-TemplateProjectSettings.doNotEdit.json) re-merges its own values for that property. This causes the user intent to be silently ignored.

The root cause is in MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary: the function is called independently for each source. The overwriteSettings mechanism removes a property from the destination only at the moment of the user source merge. Any template source that appears later in the ordered list has no knowledge that the property was already overwritten, so it re-applies its values unconditionally.

Closes: #2228

Solution

Track which settings names have been explicitly overwritten by any user-controlled source as ReadSettings iterates the ordered sources list. Pass that accumulated list into MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary alongside a flag that identifies whether the current source is a template-managed file. When both conditions are true, skip the merge for that property.

Changes to Actions/.Modules/ReadSettings.psm1

MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary receives two new optional parameters:

• [string[]] overwrittenSettings: names of settings already declared as overwritten by a prior user-controlled source.
• [bool] isTemplateSource: true when the source file is a template-managed *.doNotEdit.json file.

When isTemplateSource is true and the property name appears in overwrittenSettings, the merge for that property is skipped in both the "add new properties" loop and the "update existing properties" loop.

The ReadSettings foreach loop now:

1. Determines isTemplateSource from the source file name.
2. Passes -overwrittenSettings and -isTemplateSource to both MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary calls (main merge and conditional settings merge).
3. After each non-template source is merged, accumulates property names declared in its overwriteSettings list so subsequent template sources cannot re-introduce those values.

Changes to Tests/ReadSettings.Test.ps1

Two integration tests added:

1. Verifies that appDependencyProbingPaths remains empty after a user overwrite even when the template project settings file contains values for that property.
2. Verifies that a user project settings file can still add values to a property after it was overwritten at the repo level, and that template values remain excluded.

Testing

1. Create a repository that uses an AL-Go template.
2. In .github/AL-Go-TemplateProjectSettings.doNotEdit.json, add an entry to appDependencyProbingPaths.
3. In .github/AL-Go-Settings.json, set overwriteSettings: ["appDependencyProbingPaths"] and appDependencyProbingPaths: [].
4. Run any AL-Go workflow that reads settings.
5. Before this change, appDependencyProbingPaths in the resolved settings contains the template entry. After this change, it is empty as the user specified.

Unit tests can be run locally with Pester v5:

Invoke-Pester -Path Tests/ReadSettings.Test.ps1

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR updates the AL-Go settings merge logic so that overwriteSettings declared in user-controlled sources continues to take effect even when template-managed *.doNotEdit.json sources are merged later, preventing templates from re-introducing values that a user explicitly cleared/replaced.

Changes:

• Extend MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary and ReadSettings to track settings explicitly overwritten by user sources and skip merging those settings from template sources.
• Add Pester integration tests covering the overwrite-vs-template merge behavior for appDependencyProbingPaths.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File	Description
Actions/.Modules/ReadSettings.psm1	Tracks overwritten setting names across sources and prevents later template sources from re-merging them.
Tests/ReadSettings.Test.ps1	Adds integration tests ensuring user overwrites win over template settings while still allowing later user sources to merge.

[jeffreybulanadi]

The review caught a real gap. The accumulation was adding entries to the overwritten tracking list based on what was declared in overwriteSettings alone, without checking whether the source object actually provided the property value. MergeCustomObjectIntoOrderedDictionary has that check already (line 30: it only clears a destination property when the source contains both the declaration and the value), so the tracking should follow the same rule.

The fix adds the property presence check to the accumulation step: a setting is only recorded as overwritten when the source object contains the property in addition to declaring it in overwriteSettings. A source that lists a setting but provides no value no longer silently blocks template sources from contributing that setting.

A test was added for this case: user source declares overwriteSettings for appDependencyProbingPaths but provides no value, and the template source value should still reach the final settings.