[FEATURE] Persist panel layout settings between sessions

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Panel layout (sizes and positions) resets to default every time a new session starts. There is no way to save a preferred default layout, so users have to manually resize panels at the start of each session. This is a repetitive friction point that adds up over time.

Proposed Solution

Panel layout preferences should persist across sessions — either saved to a local config (e.g., ~/.claude/settings.json) or stored per device. On session start, Claude Code would restore the last-used layout automatically.

Related issues with the same underlying problem:

• #47179 — persistent default output folder setting
• #31923 — persist model variant settings in config

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

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Additional Context

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