Design: Treat session tabs as containers, not session views

Summary

PR #525 implements session tab persistence, but the current model conflates tabs and sessions. This issue proposes a design where tabs are containers and sessions are content, similar to Neovim's window/buffer relationship.

Design Proposal

Core principle: Persist the tab (container), not the session (content).

Neovim	opencode.nvim	Role
window	session tab	Container, persists independently
buffer	agent session	Content, can be created/deleted

Operation Semantics

Operation	Container Effect	Content Effect
`<M-c>` (new tab)	New container created	New session created and filled
`<C-a>` (select session)	Container unchanged	Swap to existing session
`<C-n>` (new session)	Container unchanged	Replace with new session

Key: <M-c> creates container + fills it so user can chat immediately. <C-a>/<C-n> only change what the container holds.

Bugs Found in Current Implementation

Bug 1: Tabs created before panel open are lost

Open Neovim, do NOT open panel
Press <M-c> 3 times, send messages
:q, reopen — only 1 tab restored

Cause: M.save() iterates groups, but groups is empty unless M.restore() was called (panel opened).

Bug 2: Empty tabs not persisted

Open panel, press <M-c>, do NOT send message
:q, reopen — tab missing

Cause: save_group() skips tabs where active_session == nil.

Bug 3: `<C-a>` session switch not persisted

Tab 2 shows Session A
Press <C-a>, switch to Session B
:q, reopen — Tab 2 shows Session A again

Cause: M.set_active() updates global store but not the tab's active_session field.

Proposed Behavior

Scenario	Current	Proposed
Empty tab after restart	Lost	Restored as empty container
Session deleted server-side	Tab shows "N/A"	Tab becomes empty container
`<C-a>` switch	Ephemeral	Persisted

Questions

Agree with "tab as container, session as content" model?
Should empty tabs be persistent?
Should <C-a> switching be durable across restarts?
Should <M-c> auto-fill with new session (so user can chat immediately)?
Deleted session: show "N/A" or empty container?

Environment

OS: Windows 11
Neovim: 0.12.5
opencode.nvim: latest main (commit 494e474)
opencode executable: opencode2 (v2 protocol)

Related: PR #525, Issue #519

@sudo-tee

@sudo-tee Thanks for merging PR #525! The project-scoped tab groups work great. These are follow-up refinements I discovered during deeper testing, not criticisms of the original implementation. I appreciate your quick iterations on this feature.

I think this MR can help with this workflow

#543

It will not persist tabs with a session and no prompt sent.

For the container, you can already reuse a tab to see another session

leader oI does that and the session picker also use the current tab. leader oN create a new tab (with a new session for the moment) but the PR I sent in my other message is fixing this . It will be a draft session

Not sure what is missing

Thanks for clarifying the <leader>oI and session picker behaviors. However, I realize my use case with <C-a> is different from both:

My <C-a> workflow:

I'm on Tab 1 showing Session A
I press <C-a> to open the session picker
I select existing Session B
Tab 1 directly switches to show Session B (no new tab, no jumping away)

This differs from:

<leader>oI: Stays in current tab, but creates a new session
Session picker: Selects existing session, but jumps to its tab or creates new tab

The bug I encountered:

After switching with <C-a>, Tab 1 correctly shows Session B
But after restarting Neovim, Tab 1 restores showing Session A, not Session B
The switch was not persisted

Questions:

Is this the intended behavior, or a bug?
If I want to switch the current tab to an existing session (without creating a new tab), which operation should I use?

For context, I have <C-a> mapped to select_session which calls session_runtime.select_session.

Thanks for the clarification, Now I understand, it should be persisted when there is a switch. I will have a look

…

On Tue, Oct 20, 2026 at 7:26 AM wzj-zz ***@***.***> wrote: *wzj-zz* left a comment (sudo-tee/opencode.nvim#541) <#541 (comment)> Thanks for clarifying the <leader>oI and session picker behaviors. However, I realize my use case with <C-a> is different from both: *My <C-a> workflow:* - I'm on Tab 1 showing Session A - I press <C-a> to open the session picker - I select existing Session B - *Tab 1 directly switches to show Session B* (no new tab, no jumping away) *This differs from:* - <leader>oI: Stays in current tab, but creates a *new* session - Session picker: Selects existing session, but *jumps to its tab* or *creates new tab* *The bug I encountered:* - After switching with <C-a>, Tab 1 correctly shows Session B - But after restarting Neovim, Tab 1 restores showing Session A, not Session B - The switch was not persisted *Questions:* 1. Is this the intended behavior, or a bug? 2. If I want to switch the current tab to an existing session (without creating a new tab), which operation should I use? For context, I have <C-a> mapped to select_session which calls session_runtime.select_session. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#541?email_source=notifications&email_token=AACTQXVNOLP3SNAM5DP465L5U5DVVA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTMMRYHE3TQMZZGA4KM4TFMFZW63VHNVSW45DJN5XKKZLWMVXHJLDGN5XXIZLSL5RWY2LDNM#issuecomment-6289783908>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACTQXXPL7XVW6E4MITHCCD5U5DVVAVCNFSNUABGKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTAMBZGY3TCNRZGM5US43TOVSTWNJZGAZTMNBUGU2DPILWAI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: <sudo-tee/opencode.nvim/issues/541/6289783908 ***@***.*** com>

@wzj-zz

@wzj-zz

I am not able to reproduce the issue if I use the session picker on a tab it properly switch and is restored with the new session.

Can you give it a try with latest changes or record a video if you are still able to reproduce ?

@sudo-tee

@sudo-tee Here is the video demonstrating the <C-a> session switch persistence issue.

Video:

issue541_compressed.mp4

What the video shows:

Open Neovim with existing session "Quick check-in" (Session A)
Press <C-a>, select "Test message 222" (Session B)
Tab now shows Session B
Close Neovim
Reopen — Tab restores showing Session A, not Session B

Environment:

OS: Windows 11
Neovim: 0.12.5
opencode.nvim: latest main (97566da)
opencode executable: opencode2 (v2 protocol)

The session switch works in the current instance, but is not persisted across restarts.

fix(session): fix snapshot write failure on Windows

Navigation Menu

Repository navigation

Design: Treat session tabs as containers, not session views #541

Summary

Design Proposal

Operation Semantics

Bugs Found in Current Implementation

Bug 1: Tabs created before panel open are lost

Bug 2: Empty tabs not persisted

Bug 3: `<C-a>` session switch not persisted

Proposed Behavior

Questions

Environment

Metadata

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Relationships

Development

Design: Treat session tabs as containers, not session views #541

Description

Summary

Design Proposal

Operation Semantics

Bugs Found in Current Implementation

Bug 1: Tabs created before panel open are lost

Bug 2: Empty tabs not persisted

Bug 3: <C-a> session switch not persisted

Proposed Behavior

Questions

Environment

Activity

wzj-zz commented on Oct 17, 2026

sudo-tee commented on Oct 20, 2026

sudo-tee commented on Oct 20, 2026

wzj-zz commented on Oct 20, 2026

sudo-tee commented on Oct 20, 2026

sudo-tee commented on Oct 21, 2026

wzj-zz commented on Oct 21, 2026

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Relationships

Development

Issue actions

Bug 3: `<C-a>` session switch not persisted