feat(sidebar): 3-state session indicators driven by real processing state

docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-30-session-status-indicators-design.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Session Status Indicators - Design
+
+Date: 2026-05-30
+Status: Approved (3-distinct-states)
+
+## Problem
+Sidebar session indicator is an animated green dot driven purely by timestamp
+(isActive: diffInMinutes < 10 in sidebar/utils/utils.ts). It lights up for any
+session touched in the last 10 min regardless of whether an agent is running.
+The real processing state (processingSessions Set, event-driven) is only shown
+in the chat-area status bar, never in the sidebar.
+
+## Three States
+- Processing: processingSessions.has(session.id) -> amber dot, animate-ping halo + solid core. Title "Agent running".
+- Recently active: sessionView.isActive && !isProcessing -> static sky-blue dot. Title "Recently active".
+- Idle: neither -> no indicator.
+
+## Data flow (new threading, parallel to currentTime)
+AppContent -> useProjectsState({processingSessions}) -> sidebarSharedProps
+-> Sidebar (SidebarProps) -> projectListProps -> SidebarProjectList
+-> SidebarProjectItem -> SidebarProjectSessions -> SidebarSessionItem.
+processingSessions optional in leaf types -> graceful degrade.
+
+## Files
+1. app/AppContent.tsx - pass processingSessions into useProjectsState
+2. hooks/useProjectsState.ts - accept + sidebarSharedProps + deps
+3. sidebar/types/types.ts - SidebarProps gains processingSessions
+4. sidebar/view/Sidebar.tsx - destructure + projectListProps
+5. sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectList.tsx - type + passthrough
+6. sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectItem.tsx - type + passthrough
+7. sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectSessions.tsx - type + passthrough
+8. sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarSessionItem.tsx - 3-state indicator
+
+## Risk: low, additive prop threading + presentational swap. Feature branch, no deploy until reviewed.

src/components/app/AppContent.tsx

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ function AppContentInner() {
     latestMessage,
     isMobile,
     activeSessions,
+    processingSessions,
   });
 
   usePaletteOpsRegister({

src/components/sidebar/types/types.ts

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ export type SidebarProps = {
   settingsInitialTab: string;
   onCloseSettings: () => void;
   isMobile: boolean;
+  processingSessions?: Set<string>;
 };
 
 export type SessionViewModel = {

src/components/sidebar/view/Sidebar.tsx

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ function Sidebar({
   settingsInitialTab,
   onCloseSettings,
   isMobile,
+  processingSessions,
 }: SidebarProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation(['sidebar', 'common']);
   const { isPWA } = useDeviceSettings({ trackMobile: false });
@@ -152,6 +153,7 @@ function Sidebar({
     editingName,
     initialSessionsLoaded,
     currentTime,
+    processingSessions,
     editingSession,
     editingSessionName,
     deletingProjects,

src/components/sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectItem.tsx

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type SidebarProjectItemProps = {
   initialSessionsLoaded: boolean;
   isLoadingMoreSessions: boolean;
   currentTime: Date;
+  processingSessions?: Set<string>;
   editingSession: string | null;
   editingSessionName: string;
   tasksEnabled: boolean;
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectItem({
   initialSessionsLoaded,
   isLoadingMoreSessions,
   currentTime,
+  processingSessions,
   editingSession,
   editingSessionName,
   tasksEnabled,
@@ -412,6 +414,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectItem({
         hasMoreSessions={Boolean(project.sessionMeta?.hasMore)}
         isLoadingMoreSessions={isLoadingMoreSessions}
         currentTime={currentTime}
+        processingSessions={processingSessions}
         editingSession={editingSession}
         editingSessionName={editingSessionName}
         onEditingSessionNameChange={onEditingSessionNameChange}

src/components/sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectList.tsx

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export type SidebarProjectListProps = {
   editingName: string;
   initialSessionsLoaded: Set<string>;
   currentTime: Date;
+  processingSessions?: Set<string>;
   editingSession: string | null;
   editingSessionName: string;
   deletingProjects: Set<string>;
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectList({
   editingName,
   initialSessionsLoaded,
   currentTime,
+  processingSessions,
   editingSession,
   editingSessionName,
   deletingProjects,
@@ -131,6 +133,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectList({
               initialSessionsLoaded={initialSessionsLoaded.has(project.projectId)}
               isLoadingMoreSessions={loadingMoreProjects.has(project.projectId)}
               currentTime={currentTime}
+              processingSessions={processingSessions}
               editingSession={editingSession}
               editingSessionName={editingSessionName}
               tasksEnabled={tasksEnabled}

src/components/sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarProjectSessions.tsx

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ type SidebarProjectSessionsProps = {
   hasMoreSessions: boolean;
   isLoadingMoreSessions: boolean;
   currentTime: Date;
+  processingSessions?: Set<string>;
   editingSession: string | null;
   editingSessionName: string;
   onEditingSessionNameChange: (value: string) => void;
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectSessions({
   hasMoreSessions,
   isLoadingMoreSessions,
   currentTime,
+  processingSessions,
   editingSession,
   editingSessionName,
   onEditingSessionNameChange,
@@ -121,6 +123,7 @@ export default function SidebarProjectSessions({
               session={session}
               selectedSession={selectedSession}
               currentTime={currentTime}
+              processingSessions={processingSessions}
               editingSession={editingSession}
               editingSessionName={editingSessionName}
               onEditingSessionNameChange={onEditingSessionNameChange}

src/components/sidebar/view/subcomponents/SidebarSessionItem.tsx

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ type SidebarSessionItemProps = {
   session: SessionWithProvider;
   selectedSession: ProjectSession | null;
   currentTime: Date;
+  processingSessions?: Set<string>;
   editingSession: string | null;
   editingSessionName: string;
   onEditingSessionNameChange: (value: string) => void;
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ export default function SidebarSessionItem({
   session,
   selectedSession,
   currentTime,
+  processingSessions,
   editingSession,
   editingSessionName,
   onEditingSessionNameChange,
@@ -76,6 +78,8 @@ export default function SidebarSessionItem({
 }: SidebarSessionItemProps) {
   const sessionView = createSessionViewModel(session, currentTime, t);
   const isSelected = selectedSession?.id === session.id;
+  const isProcessing = processingSessions?.has(session.id) ?? false;
+  const isRecentlyActive = sessionView.isActive && !isProcessing;
   const compactSessionAge = formatCompactSessionAge(sessionView.sessionTime, currentTime);
 
   // Sessions are owned by a project identified by `projectId` (DB primary key)
@@ -95,20 +99,35 @@ export default function SidebarSessionItem({
 
   return (
     <div className="group relative">
-      {sessionView.isActive && (
+      {isProcessing ? (
-        <div className="absolute left-0 top-1/2 -translate-x-1 -translate-y-1/2 transform">
+        <div
-          <div className="h-2 w-2 animate-pulse rounded-full bg-green-500" />
+          className="absolute left-0 top-1/2 -translate-x-1 -translate-y-1/2 transform"
+          title={t('sessions.agentRunning', { defaultValue: 'Agent running' })}
+        >
+          <span className="relative flex h-2 w-2">
+            <span className="absolute inline-flex h-full w-full animate-ping rounded-full bg-amber-400 opacity-75" />
+            <span className="relative inline-flex h-2 w-2 rounded-full bg-amber-500" />
+          </span>
         </div>
-      )}
+      ) : isRecentlyActive ? (
+        <div
+          className="absolute left-0 top-1/2 -translate-x-1 -translate-y-1/2 transform"
+          title={t('sessions.recentlyActive', { defaultValue: 'Recently active' })}
+        >
+          <span className="block h-1.5 w-1.5 rounded-full bg-sky-400/70" />
+        </div>
+      ) : null}
 
       <div className="md:hidden">
         <div
           className={cn(
             'p-2 mx-3 my-0.5 rounded-md bg-card border active:scale-[0.98] transition-all duration-150 relative',
             isSelected ? 'bg-primary/5 border-primary/20' : '',
-            !isSelected && sessionView.isActive
+            !isSelected && isProcessing
-              ? 'border-green-500/30 bg-green-50/5 dark:bg-green-900/5'
+              ? 'border-amber-500/40 bg-amber-50/10 dark:bg-amber-900/10'
-              : 'border-border/30',
+              : !isSelected && isRecentlyActive
+                ? 'border-sky-500/20'
+                : 'border-border/30',
           )}
           onClick={selectMobileSession}
         >

src/hooks/useProjectsState.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type UseProjectsStateArgs = {
   latestMessage: AppSocketMessage | null;
   isMobile: boolean;
   activeSessions: Set<string>;
+  processingSessions: Set<string>;
 };
 
 type FetchProjectsOptions = {
@@ -241,6 +242,7 @@ export function useProjectsState({
   latestMessage,
   isMobile,
   activeSessions,
+  processingSessions,
 }: UseProjectsStateArgs) {
   const [projects, setProjects] = useState<Project[]>([]);
   const [selectedProject, setSelectedProject] = useState<Project | null>(null);
@@ -830,6 +832,7 @@ export function useProjectsState({
       settingsInitialTab,
       onCloseSettings: () => setShowSettings(false),
       isMobile,
+      processingSessions,
     }),
     [
       handleNewSession,
@@ -847,6 +850,7 @@ export function useProjectsState({
       selectedProject,
       selectedSession,
       showSettings,
+      processingSessions,
     ],
   );