Sidebar: keep the search query and results when opening a thread

[GERAunits]

Problem / use case

I use the T3 Code desktop app on the Nightly channel. I often need to find several related conversations and inspect them one by one.

The workflow I need is:

1. Enter a text query in the left sidebar's thread search.
2. Get a list of matching threads.
3. Open one result and read the conversation.
4. Open another result from the same list without entering the query again.

Currently, step 3 clears the search query and replaces the results with the normal sidebar. This makes search useful for a single jump, but not for reviewing several matching conversations. I have to repeat the same search after every thread I open.

Current behavior

• Clicking any search result opens the thread and clears the sidebar search.
• The current source uses the same selection handler for Enter, so keyboard selection also clears it.
• I could not find a setting to retain the query and results when opening a thread.

The desktop behavior above is my user report. The keyboard behavior and explicit clearing were checked in source; no separate live UI reproduction was performed for this proposal. Exact installed Nightly build: not recorded.

Proposed behavior

Keep the sidebar search query and filtered results visible when opening a matching thread, so another result can be opened immediately.

• Apply this consistently to mouse selection and Enter.
• Keep the selected/open thread identifiable in the results.
• Leave the existing explicit ways to clear search available: the clear control and Escape while the search input is focused.
• Ideally keep the results' scroll position when opening a thread, so reviewing a longer list does not return me to its beginning.

My preference is for this to be the default sidebar behavior. If retaining the existing jump-and-clear workflow is important, an opt-in setting would also solve my use case. I am asking for agreement on the behavior, not proposing a particular implementation.

Smallest useful scope

Preserve the current sidebar search session while switching between its matching threads. Persistence across app restarts, saved searches, changes to search matching, and changes to the command palette are not required. The reported surface is desktop; the shared web sidebar should behave consistently. Native mobile behavior is outside this request.

Evidence and related work

• In Sidebar.tsx at main@8d3b061, selecting a result explicitly calls the search-clearing handler before navigating. This looks like an existing product behavior rather than an established regression, so I am filing an Ideas discussion in accordance with CONTRIBUTING.md.
• [Bug]: Thread filter reseting #9379 concerned the project filter resetting across navigation, not the text-search query/results described here.
• perf(web): defer sidebar results and preserve search navigation #21550 improves sidebar search rendering and keyboard navigation, but its current diff still clears the query when selecting a result.
• Discussion Opening a thread from search should open find on the match #19838 proposes opening in-thread find on a message match. That is complementary; this request is about retaining the sidebar results list, not jumping to matching text inside a conversation.

I searched existing issues, pull requests, and discussions and did not find a proposal for this exact workflow. If there is already a supported way to do it, please point me to it.

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Prepared with Pi (GPT-6.1 Sol), based on my reported workflow and source inspection. No application code or settings were changed.