# sidebar: Fix threads disappearing when stored main paths go stale \(\#54382\) · gitcafe/zed

[View on GitCafe](https://git.cafe/gitcafe/zed/commit/a0b49e690d15d72e68591e2b5f98468ad428269a)

Repository: [gitcafe/zed](https://git.cafe/gitcafe/zed)

Visibility: public

Requested revision: a0b49e690d15d72e68591e2b5f98468ad428269a

Requested commit: a0b49e690d15d72e68591e2b5f98468ad428269a

Commit: a0b49e690d15d72e68591e2b5f98468ad428269a

Tree: 581f9fa85b7d2aa52cb493aba8737ff64449a133

Author: Eric Holk

Committer: GitHub

## Message

```
sidebar: Fix threads disappearing when stored main paths go stale (#54382)

Fixes a user-reported bug where a thread could be missing from the
sidebar even though it was still present in the metadata store and still
visible in Thread History. The thread reappears in the sidebar only
after the user sends a message.

### Scenario

A single multi-root workspace whose roots are `[/cloud,
/worktrees/zed/wt_a/zed]`, where:

- `/cloud` is a standalone git repo (main == folder).
- `/worktrees/zed/wt_a/zed` is a linked worktree of a separate `/zed`
repo.

The project group normalizes to `main_worktree_paths = [/cloud, /zed]`.
A thread created in this workspace is written with `main=[/cloud, /zed],
folder=[/cloud, /worktrees/zed/wt_a/zed]` and the sidebar finds it via
`entries_for_main_worktree_path`.

If the thread's stored `main_worktree_paths` ever drifts from the group
key — e.g. a stale row loaded from the store on startup, a legacy write,
or a row persisted with `main == folder` — all three existing lookups in
`Sidebar::rebuild_contents` miss:

1. `entries_for_main_worktree_path([/cloud, /zed])` — the thread's
stored main doesn't equal the group key.
2. `entries_for_path([/cloud, /zed])` — the thread's folder paths don't
equal the group key either.
3. The linked-worktree fallback iterates the group workspaces'
`linked_worktrees()` snapshots. Those yield *sibling* linked worktrees
of the repo, not the workspace's own roots, so `/worktrees/zed/wt_a/zed`
doesn't match.

The row falls out of the sidebar entirely even though the metadata is
intact and the thread's folder paths exactly equal the open workspace's
roots. The store heals the stored row on the next `RootThreadUpdated`
event, which is why sending a message makes the row reappear — but until
then the sidebar misrepresents the state.

### Fix

Add a fourth lookup to `Sidebar::rebuild_contents`: for each open
workspace in the group, query the store by the workspace's own root
paths. Any thread whose `folder_paths` matches an open workspace's roots
belongs under that group, regardless of what its `main_worktree_paths`
say.

This covers the gap between stale-row load and store self-heal, matches
the principle that the sidebar should reflect state that exists in a
reasonable way, and is symmetric with the existing lookups (same store
API, one more iterator).

### Commits

1. `sidebar: Add failing repro for thread disappearing from sidebar` —
adds `test_sidebar_keeps_multi_root_thread_with_stale_main_paths` which
reproduces the bug. Sets up the multi-root + linked-worktree layout,
persists a thread in the stale shape, and asserts the row is still
visible in the sidebar.
2. `sidebar: Show threads whose folder paths match an open workspace` —
the fourth-lookup fix. 31 lines in `crates/sidebar/src/sidebar.rs`, no
deletions.

### Verification

- `cargo test -p sidebar`: 103 passed, 0 failed (the new test was
failing before commit 2 and is passing after).
- `./script/clippy -p sidebar`: clean.

### Follow-ups

The three existing lookups in `rebuild_contents` are each covering a
different historical shape the store can be in. A real cleanup — do a
one-shot migration on reload that fills in `main_worktree_paths` for any
row missing it, then retire the two legacy-shape lookups — is worth
doing as a separate PR, but out of scope here.

Release Notes:

- Fixed an issue where agent threads could go  missing from the sidebar.
```

## Parents

- [1ea6eb4d42b871bf2cb19dbb5f0dd59f5eee349a](https://git.cafe/gitcafe/zed/commit/1ea6eb4d42b871bf2cb19dbb5f0dd59f5eee349a?format=markdown)

[Source at this commit](https://git.cafe/gitcafe/zed/tree/a0b49e690d15d72e68591e2b5f98468ad428269a?format=markdown)