[FEATURE] Desktop: setting to make split view the default when opening a session
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
Split view already works. ⋮ → Open in → Split view opens a session beside the one I have open, and that's exactly the layout I want to work in.
The problem is that it's never the default. Every session I open takes two extra actions to get there: open the context menu, then the submenu. A plain click always replaces what I'm looking at instead.
For anyone running sessions in parallel, split is the normal state, not the exception. I'm choosing it every single time, and the app has no way to remember that.
Proposed Solution
A setting under Settings → Claude Code:
Open sessions in: Current pane (today's behaviour) / Split view
With it set to Split view, clicking a session in the sidebar does what ⋮ → Open in → Split view does now. The modifier click keeps working as the inverse for anyone who wants a single session.
No new feature — the behaviour already exists and is already reachable. This is only about which one a plain click triggers.
Alternative Solutions
Currently: ⋮ → Open in → Split view every time, or the documented Ctrl/Cmd+click, which is undiscoverable and misfires on Windows (#55764).
Priority
Low - Nice to have
Feature Category
Configuration and settings
Use Case Example
- I work with two sessions side by side most of the day.
- Every time I bring up a different session, I open the ⋮ menu, hover Open in, click Split view.
- With the setting on, I click the session. Done.
Additional Context
Related: #55764 (Windows: Split view menu item misfires on click), #48688 (split panes and numbered session shortcuts).
<img width="681" height="388" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/128c3bd4-d490-4b71-9387-1884eb0eda63" />