left session list should be colorful

Open 💬 0 comments Opened Jun 25, 2026 by nbswgn100k-boop

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

Summary

Style each entry in the left session list (Recents) by its run state, so I can tell at a glance which sessions are still working vs. which have finished and are waiting on me:

  • Running / actively processing → animate the session title with a subtle moving gradient (a gentle color "wave"/shimmer) so it reads as alive / working.
  • Completed / idle (waiting for input) → revert to the normal solid (default/black) text color.

Problem / motivation

I routinely run 8+ concurrent sessions against the same repo. The sidebar currently gives no at-a-glance signal of which ones are still busy and which have stopped and need my attention — I have to click into each session to find out. The in-session spinner only tells me about the one session I have open; the sidebar is where I actually decide what to attend to next, and it's exactly where the signal is missing. For anyone doing parallel/fan-out work, this would make triaging the queue dramatically faster.

Proposed behavior

In the Recents / session list, drive the per-entry style off the same run-state the app already tracks internally:

  • Active session → animated gradient text (or an animated accent).
  • Finished / idle session → static default text color.

Nice-to-haves

  • Respect the OS "reduce motion" setting — fall back to a static color or a status dot instead of animation.
  • Optionally offer a status dot variant (for users who find moving text distracting).
  • Optionally distinguish finished-OK / waiting-for-input vs. errored / blocked by color.

Alternatives considered

An external monitor that watches ~/.claude/projects file activity can approximate this, but it can only infer run-state heuristically from file mtimes. The app already knows the true state, so a native sidebar indicator would be far more accurate and require no extra tooling.

Proposed Solution

Proposed behavior

In the Recents / session list, drive the per-entry style off the same run-state the app already tracks internally:

  • Active session → animated gradient text (or an animated accent).
  • Finished / idle session → static default text color.

Alternative Solutions

An external monitor that watches ~/.claude/projects file activity can approximate this, but it can only infer run-state heuristically from file mtimes. The app already knows the true state, so a native sidebar indicator would be far more accurate and require no extra tooling.

Priority

Critical - Blocking my work

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_

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