[BUG] Desktop (Windows): Pinned sidebar sessions stop reordering by recent activity after update (v1.14271.0)
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
In the Claude Desktop app (Code tab, left sidebar), the Pinned section no longer reorders by recent activity after updating to v1.14271.0.
Before the update, opening or messaging a pinned session moved it to the top of the Pinned section (recency reorder). After the update, pinned sessions stay in a fixed position and do not bubble up when worked in.
Sort by = Recency and Group by = None are set; these now appear to affect only the Recents section, not the Pinned section.
What Should Happen?
Working in (or sending a message to) a pinned session should move it to the top of the Pinned section by recent activity, exactly as it did before the update.
Error Messages/Logs
N/A — UI ordering behavior, no error message is produced.Steps to Reproduce
- In the Code tab sidebar, pin two or more sessions.
- Set
Sort byto Recency andGroup byto None. - Open and send a message in a pinned session that is NOT currently at the top of the Pinned list.
- Observe the order of the Pinned section.
Result: the session just used stays in its fixed position; pinned items do not reorder by recent activity (only the Recents section does).
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
Worked before updating to v1.14271.0. Possibly changed by v1.13576.0 (2026-06-16), which changed the Code sessions tab from Projects to All sessions.
Claude Code Version
Claude Desktop app v1.14271.0 (Windows). CLI: claude 2.1.128 (Claude Code). NOTE: this is a Desktop-app GUI bug (Code tab sidebar), not a CLI bug.
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
This affects the Claude Desktop app GUI (Code tab sidebar), not the CLI/terminal. Plan: Max (claude.ai).
No changelog entry documents this change. Related (not duplicates): #59282 (project Recent sort uses stale timestamps) and #56060 (Sort by Recency ignored when Group by Project is selected).
3 Comments
Pinned ordering should be driven by the same durable activity timestamp as Recents, with an explicit pin sort policy. Record
last_activity_atupdates on open, user message, assistant completion, and remote/session activity, then make Pinned choose fixed-order or recency-order intentionally.If Recency no longer applies to pinned rows, the UI should expose that as a separate setting. A small diagnostic could show each sidebar row's pin state, last activity timestamp, and sort key so regressions are visible.
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_Generated with ax._
Same behavior on Claude Desktop for Windows (current auto-updated release as of 2026-07-19), and it also affects the Cowork tab, not just Code — pinned Cowork sessions no longer move to the top of the Pinned section when they receive a new response.
Additional data points:
pinnedOrderarray being written to the session-picker localStorage state, as described in #50391, and then permanently overriding activity sorting).A "Sort by recent activity / Manual order" toggle on the Pinned section would resolve this even if the manual-order behavior is intentional.
Same behavior on Claude Desktop for Windows (current auto-updated release as of 2026-07-19), and it also affects the Cowork tab, not just Code — pinned Cowork sessions no longer move to the top of the Pinned section when they receive a new response.
Additional data points. In my case the symptom appeared right after I dragged a pinned session to a lower position: first only the dragged session stopped re-sorting, later the entire Pinned section stopped. May be the same underlying regression, but the drag correlation might be a useful lead (e.g. a
pinnedOrderarray being written to the session-picker localStorage state, as described in #50391, and then permanently overriding activity sorting).Unpinning and re-pinning the affected session does not fix it. Fully quitting the app from the system tray and relaunching does not fix it. There is no UI control to restore sort-by-activity for the Pinned section; per #50391 the only way to clear the stored order is logging out, which wipes all pins.
A "Sort by recent activity / Manual order" toggle on the Pinned section would resolve this even if the manual-order behavior is intentional.