[Feature]: Allow Sidebar V2 threads to be sorted by recent activity #6342

Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
• I am describing a concrete problem or use case, not just a vague idea.

Area

apps/web

Problem or use case

Sidebar V2 keeps active threads in creation order. When I return to an older unfinished thread and continue working in it, the thread remains far down the list instead of moving near the top.

This makes active work unnecessarily hard to find. I often have to scan or search through the sidebar again immediately after sending a new message in an older thread.

Issue #805 requested this behavior previously and was closed after thread activity sorting was implemented in version 0.0.14. However, Sidebar V2 currently uses a separate creation-order rule, so the original use case is no longer covered there.

Proposed solution

Allow users to choose how active threads are sorted in Sidebar V2:

• Created at: preserve the current stable creation order.
• Recent activity: show the thread with the most recent user message first.

This should be a user preference rather than changing the default behavior for everyone. When I send a new message to an older unfinished thread, it should move to the top of the active thread list when Recent activity is selected.

Pinned threads should keep their manual ordering. Snoozed and Settled sections should keep their existing ordering rules.

If possible, Sidebar V2 could reuse the existing sidebarThreadSortOrder setting, which already supports updated_at and created_at and is used by the legacy sidebar and other thread lists.

Why this matters

Users often return to older unfinished threads to continue a task. Creation order does not reflect what they are currently working on, so active threads can remain buried below many newer but inactive threads.

An optional recent-activity order would keep current work easy to reach while preserving the stable creation-order behavior for users who prefer it.

Smallest useful scope

Add a Created at / Recent activity sorting option for active threads in the web/desktop Sidebar V2.

The first version only needs to reorder active, unpinned threads using the existing client-side thread timestamps and persisted sidebar sort preference. Pinned, Snoozed, and Settled ordering can remain unchanged.

Alternatives considered

I currently use sidebar search or manually scan the list to find the old thread again. Pinning can help for known long-running threads, but it is not practical to pin every thread I may return to.

Automatically changing the behavior for everyone could make the sidebar feel unstable, so an explicit sorting preference seems preferable.

Risks or tradeoffs

Recent-activity sorting causes rows to move when users resume older threads. That movement is intentional in this mode but may be undesirable for users who value positional stability, which is why the existing creation-order behavior should remain available and can remain the default.

The activity timestamp should be narrowly defined. Using the latest user message would avoid moving threads because of unrelated metadata or background status updates.

Examples or references

Related issue:

• Order threads in a project based on activity #805 — Order threads in a project based on activity

Related Sidebar V2 discussion:

• [Feature]: Prioritize Sidebar V2 threads that need review #4695 — Prioritize Sidebar V2 threads that need review

Sidebar V2 currently documents its active-thread ordering as static creation order, with activity intentionally not reordering the list.

Contribution

• I would be open to helping implement this.