fix(flow): keep fields added after a checkpoint on dict state restore

[bardock-2393]

Summary

Contributes to #6706 by keeping dict-typed flow state fields that were added to initial_state after an older checkpoint was saved.

_restore_state cleared the dict state before applying a stored checkpoint. self._state is populated from the flow's current initial_state at construction, so any key added since an older checkpoint was saved existed on the fresh instance with its default value — until .clear() wiped it out, leaving it missing entirely instead of falling back to that default. The BaseModel branch right below doesn't have this problem, since model_validate already fills unset fields from the model's own defaults; this brings the dict branch to the same behavior by merging the stored values on top of the constructed defaults instead of replacing the state outright.

Testing

• uv run pytest lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py::test_dict_state_restore_keeps_fields_added_after_the_checkpoint -q
• uv run pytest lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence_factory.py -q (18 passed)
• uv run pytest lib/crewai/tests/ -k flow -q (600 passed, 22 skipped)
• uv run ruff check lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/runtime/__init__.py lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py
• uv run ruff format --check lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/runtime/__init__.py lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py
• uv run mypy lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/runtime/__init__.py

[bardock-2393]

Per CONTRIBUTING.md, this should carry the llm-generated label — I don't have permission to add it myself. Could a maintainer please apply it?

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

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Run ID: 7821e2ef-c6b4-4150-91b1-c6efc06f0df2

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between f15844b and 27315b3.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/runtime/__init__.py
• lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Dictionary-based flow state restoration now merges persisted values into the current state, preserving fields added after a checkpoint. A regression test verifies restored values and newly introduced defaults coexist.

Changes

Flow state restoration

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Dictionary state merge and regression coverage lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/runtime/__init__.py, lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_persistence.py	Flow._restore_state preserves current dictionary fields while applying persisted values, and the new test verifies defaults added after checkpoint creation remain available.

Suggested reviewers: lucasgomide

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the main change: preserving newly added dict state fields during checkpoint restore.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description accurately explains the state-restore change and the added test coverage.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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