Desktop app (Code tab): folder session groups disappear after inactivity, and search can't filter by folder

Environment

• Claude desktop app: 2.37337.1 (ba51ab)
• Claude Code engine: 2.1.300
• OS: Windows 11 Home (build 26200)
• Plan: Max
• Usage: desktop app GUI only — I never use the terminal CLI

Summary

Since the recent sidebar redesign, only recently active folders keep their named session group (with the "+" button). Older folders lose their group entirely: their sessions are merged into the flat "This computer" list, where the folder name is only a small grey subtitle. With one folder per project and projects spanning months, there is no longer any way to list all my folders, reopen an old folder's group, or start a new session in an old folder from the sidebar.

Search doesn't compensate: it full-text matches conversation content, so searching an exact folder name (e.g. "- SETUP - DEV July 2026") returns any session that merely quotes that path (directory listings, JSON excerpts), including sessions from unrelated folders — and the folder's own sessions are neither prioritized nor identifiable.

Steps to reproduce

1. Work in several folders over a few months, several sessions per folder.
2. Leave one folder untouched for a few weeks.
3. Open the Code tab: that folder has no group in the sidebar anymore. Search its exact name: content matches from other folders come back instead of its sessions.

Expected behavior

• Folder groups persist regardless of last activity (or the recency cutoff is visible and configurable), browsable and collapsible, each with its "+".
• A search filter on the working directory (e.g. a folder: prefix), with title/directory matches ranked above content matches.

Impact

This is a regression for long-running multi-project work: resuming an older project now means scrolling a flat list and reading subtitles. I drive Claude Code exclusively through the desktop app, so the only workaround I found (claude --resume from a terminal opened in the folder) is not part of my workflow.

Related issues

• #60954 (group sessions by project/folder in the sidebar)
• #80279 (Last Activity filter missing in Project grouping)