[FEATURE] Desktop app: let users choose which panel buttons are pinned in the session toolbar vs. hidden in the "⋮" menu

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

In the desktop app's Code tab, the top-right toolbar of a session shows a fixed set of buttons: Terminal, the file/side pane, Browser, and a "⋮" overflow menu. Everything else, including Background tasks, lives behind the overflow menu.

Which buttons are pinned and which are hidden is hardcoded. There is no setting, drag-to-pin, or right-click option to change it, and nothing in config.json, claude_desktop_config.json, ~/.claude/settings.json, or keybindings.json affects the toolbar.

I run background agents and subagents in most sessions, so I open the Background tasks panel far more often than the Terminal or Browser pane. Every time that is two clicks (⋮ then Background tasks) instead of one, and the panel has no keyboard shortcut either (/tasks only prints a list in the chat). Other people will have a different "most used" panel, which is exactly why this should be user-configurable rather than a different fixed default.

Proposed Solution

Let the user choose which panel buttons are pinned in the session toolbar and which go into the "⋮" overflow menu. Any of these would work, roughly in order of preference:

1. Right-click on a toolbar button or on an entry in the ⋮ menu with "Pin to toolbar" / "Move to overflow menu". Order of pinned items could follow the order they were pinned in, or allow drag to reorder.
2. A "Customize toolbar" entry in the ⋮ menu that opens a small checklist of the available panels (Terminal, Files, Browser, Background tasks, Artifacts, ...) with a pinned/hidden toggle for each.
3. A settings key, so the layout can be versioned and shared across machines, for example in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "desktop": {
    "sessionToolbar": ["backgroundTasks", "terminal", "browser"]
  }
}

Anything not listed would fall into the overflow menu. The setting should apply to new sessions by default, so I do not have to re-pin per session.

Alternative Solutions

• Opening it through ⋮ → Background tasks every time. Works, but it is the panel I use most and it is the one that is hidden.
• Typing /tasks in the session. That only prints the task list into the chat, it does not open the panel.
• Looked for a config knob: checked the desktop app's config.json and claude_desktop_config.json, ~/.claude/settings.json, ~/.claude/keybindings.json, and the app's Local Storage. None of them contain anything toolbar-related, and the main window UI is loaded remotely, so there is no local file to patch.
• Related but different: #73748 asks for user-added buttons that run custom commands or agents. This request is only about choosing which of the existing built-in panel buttons are pinned. The two could share the same configuration surface.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

1. I start a session and delegate work to several subagents, so 3 or 4 background tasks are running.
2. I want to check their progress and switch between them, which means opening the Background tasks panel.
3. Today: click ⋮, then click Background tasks. Repeat every time I close the panel or open a new session.
4. With this feature: Background tasks is pinned as the first toolbar button and opens with one click, in every session, on every machine that shares my settings.

Additional Context

• Claude desktop app 1.46388.4 (Microsoft Store / MSIX install), bundled Claude Code CLI 2.1.260
• Windows 11 Pro, build 10.0.26200
• Screenshot of the current toolbar: Terminal, side pane, Browser, "⋮". Background tasks is only reachable through "⋮".

<img width="211" height="68" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f71888a5-9a2e-42f8-8871-15a068f778e0" />

• Precedent in other tools: VS Code lets you right-click editor title actions and the activity bar to hide, show, and reorder them; JetBrains has "Customize Toolbar" on right-click. Both persist the choice in settings so it follows the user.