feat(app): auto-focus terminal on create/switch, stabilize sidebar ordering for new items

packages/app/e2e/terminal-pane.spec.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { test, expect, type Page } from "./fixtures";
+import { buildHostWorkspaceRoute } from "@/utils/host-routes";
 import {
   createAgent,
   createAgentInRepo,
@@ -7,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   setWorkingDirectory,
 } from "./helpers/app";
 import { createTempGitRepo } from "./helpers/workspace";
+import { getWorkspaceTabTestIds } from "./helpers/workspace-tabs";
 import { switchWorkspaceViaSidebar } from "./helpers/workspace-ui";
 
 function visibleTestId(page: Page, testId: string) {
@@ -264,6 +266,23 @@ async function readCurrentTerminalBuffer(page: Page): Promise<string> {
   }
 }
 
+async function expectTerminalFocused(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  await expect
+    .poll(async () => {
+      return await page.evaluate(() => {
+        const surface = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>(
+          '[data-testid="terminal-surface"]'
+        );
+        if (!surface) {
+          return false;
+        }
+        const active = document.activeElement;
+        return active instanceof HTMLElement && surface.contains(active);
+      });
+    })
+    .toBe(true);
+}
+
 async function expectCurrentTerminalBufferToContain(page: Page, marker: string): Promise<void> {
   await expect
     .poll(async () => await readCurrentTerminalBuffer(page), { timeout: 30000 })
@@ -376,11 +395,7 @@ test("new terminal does not inherit output from the previously selected terminal
       directory: repo.path,
       prompt: "hello",
     });
-    await switchWorkspaceViaSidebar({
+    await page.goto(buildHostWorkspaceRoute(serverId, repo.path));
-      page,
-      serverId,
-      targetWorkspacePath: repo.path,
-    });
     await expect(page.getByTestId("workspace-new-terminal-tab").first()).toBeVisible({
       timeout: 30000,
     });
@@ -403,6 +418,74 @@ test("new terminal does not inherit output from the previously selected terminal
   }
 });
 
+test("workspace terminal tabs auto-focus on create and switch on desktop web", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  const repo = await createTempGitRepo("paseo-e2e-terminal-focus-");
+
+  try {
+    const serverId = process.env.E2E_SERVER_ID;
+    if (!serverId) {
+      throw new Error("E2E_SERVER_ID is not set.");
+    }
+
+    await createAgentInRepo(page, {
+      directory: repo.path,
+      prompt: "hello",
+    });
+    await page.goto(buildHostWorkspaceRoute(serverId, repo.path));
+    await expect(page.getByTestId("workspace-new-terminal-tab").first()).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: 30000,
+    });
+
+    await page.getByTestId("workspace-new-terminal-tab").first().click();
+    await waitForTerminalAttachToSettle(page);
+    await expectTerminalFocused(page);
+
+    const firstMarker = `terminal-focus-one-${Date.now()}`;
+    await page.keyboard.type(`echo ${firstMarker}`, { delay: 1 });
+    await page.keyboard.press("Enter");
+    await expectCurrentTerminalBufferToContain(page, firstMarker);
+
+    const terminalTabIdsBeforeSecondCreate = (await getWorkspaceTabTestIds(page)).filter((id) =>
+      id.startsWith("workspace-tab-terminal_")
+    );
+
+    await page.getByTestId("workspace-new-terminal-tab").first().click();
+    await waitForTerminalAttachToSettle(page);
+    await expectTerminalFocused(page);
+
+    const terminalTabIdsAfterSecondCreate = (await getWorkspaceTabTestIds(page)).filter((id) =>
+      id.startsWith("workspace-tab-terminal_")
+    );
+    const secondTerminalTabId = terminalTabIdsAfterSecondCreate.find(
+      (id) => !terminalTabIdsBeforeSecondCreate.includes(id)
+    );
+    const firstTerminalTabId = terminalTabIdsBeforeSecondCreate[0];
+
+    if (!firstTerminalTabId || !secondTerminalTabId) {
+      throw new Error("Expected two distinct terminal tabs to exist.");
+    }
+
+    const secondMarker = `terminal-focus-two-${Date.now()}`;
+    await page.keyboard.type(`echo ${secondMarker}`, { delay: 1 });
+    await page.keyboard.press("Enter");
+    await expectCurrentTerminalBufferToContain(page, secondMarker);
+
+    await page.getByTestId(firstTerminalTabId).first().click();
+    await waitForTerminalAttachToSettle(page);
+    await expectTerminalFocused(page);
+    await expectCurrentTerminalBufferToContain(page, firstMarker);
+
+    await page.getByTestId(secondTerminalTabId).first().click();
+    await waitForTerminalAttachToSettle(page);
+    await expectTerminalFocused(page);
+    await expectCurrentTerminalBufferToContain(page, secondMarker);
+  } finally {
+    await repo.cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
 test("terminal reattaches cleanly after heavy output and tab switches", async ({ page }) => {
   const repo = await createTempGitRepo("paseo-e2e-terminal-reattach-");
 

packages/app/src/components/terminal-emulator.tsx

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import "@xterm/xterm/css/xterm.css";
 import type { ITheme } from "@xterm/xterm";
 import type { PendingTerminalModifiers } from "../utils/terminal-keys";
 import { TerminalEmulatorRuntime } from "../terminal/runtime/terminal-emulator-runtime";
+import { focusWithRetries } from "../utils/web-focus";
 import {
   summarizeTerminalText,
   terminalDebugLog,
@@ -343,7 +344,19 @@ export default function TerminalEmulator({
     if (focusRequestToken <= 0) {
       return;
     }
-    runtimeRef.current?.focus();
+    return focusWithRetries({
+      focus: () => {
+        runtimeRef.current?.focus();
+      },
+      isFocused: () => {
+        const root = rootRef.current;
+        if (!root) {
+          return false;
+        }
+        const active = typeof document !== "undefined" ? document.activeElement : null;
+        return active instanceof HTMLElement && root.contains(active);
+      },
+    });
   }, [focusRequestToken]);
 
   useEffect(() => {

packages/app/src/components/terminal-pane.tsx

@@ -214,6 +214,7 @@ export function TerminalPane({
   const selectedTerminalIdRef = useRef<string | null>(selectedTerminalId);
   const pendingTerminalInputRef = useRef<PendingTerminalInput[]>([]);
   const keyboardRefitTimeoutsRef = useRef<Array<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>>>([]);
+  const lastAutoFocusKeyRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
 
   const updateSelectedTerminalId = useCallback(
     (next: string | null) => {
@@ -279,6 +280,21 @@ export function TerminalPane({
     setResizeRequestToken((current) => current + 1);
   }, []);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (isMobile || !isScreenFocused || !selectedTerminalId) {
+      lastAutoFocusKeyRef.current = null;
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const nextFocusKey = `${scopeKey}:${selectedTerminalId}`;
+    if (lastAutoFocusKeyRef.current === nextFocusKey) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    lastAutoFocusKeyRef.current = nextFocusKey;
+    requestTerminalFocus();
+  }, [isMobile, isScreenFocused, requestTerminalFocus, scopeKey, selectedTerminalId]);
+
   const clearKeyboardRefitTimeouts = useCallback(() => {
     if (keyboardRefitTimeoutsRef.current.length === 0) {
       return;

packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import {
+  appendMissingOrderKeys,
   applyStoredOrdering,
   buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces,
 } from './use-sidebar-workspaces-list'
@@ -46,6 +47,28 @@ describe('applyStoredOrdering', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('appendMissingOrderKeys', () => {
+  it('appends unseen keys while preserving existing order', () => {
+    const result = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+      currentOrder: ['project-b', 'project-a'],
+      visibleKeys: ['project-a', 'project-b', 'project-c'],
+    })
+
+    expect(result).toEqual(['project-b', 'project-a', 'project-c'])
+  })
+
+  it('returns the same array when there are no unseen keys', () => {
+    const currentOrder = ['project-a', 'project-b']
+
+    const result = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+      currentOrder,
+      visibleKeys: ['project-b', 'project-a'],
+    })
+
+    expect(result).toBe(currentOrder)
+  })
+})
+
 describe('buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces', () => {
   it('uses workspace descriptor name and status directly', () => {
     const workspaces: WorkspaceDescriptor[] = [
@@ -70,4 +93,148 @@ describe('buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces', () => {
     expect(projects[0]?.workspaces[0]?.name).toBe('feat/hard-cut')
     expect(projects[0]?.workspaces[0]?.statusBucket).toBe('failed')
   })
+
+  it('preserves stored project order even when activity changes', () => {
+    const initialWorkspaces: WorkspaceDescriptor[] = [
+      {
+        id: '/repo/b',
+        projectId: 'project-b',
+        name: 'feat/b',
+        status: 'running',
+        activityAt: new Date('2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z'),
+      },
+      {
+        id: '/repo/a',
+        projectId: 'project-a',
+        name: 'feat/a',
+        status: 'running',
+        activityAt: new Date('2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z'),
+      },
+    ]
+
+    const seededOrder = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+      currentOrder: [],
+      visibleKeys: buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces({
+        serverId: 'srv',
+        workspaces: initialWorkspaces,
+        projectOrder: [],
+        workspaceOrderByScope: {},
+      }).map((project) => project.projectKey),
+    })
+
+    const updatedProjects = buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces({
+      serverId: 'srv',
+      workspaces: [
+        {
+          id: '/repo/b',
+          projectId: 'project-b',
+          name: 'feat/b',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+        {
+          id: '/repo/a',
+          projectId: 'project-a',
+          name: 'feat/a',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-03T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+      ],
+      projectOrder: seededOrder,
+      workspaceOrderByScope: {},
+    })
+
+    expect(updatedProjects.map((project) => project.projectKey)).toEqual(['project-b', 'project-a'])
+  })
+
+  it('appends new projects after the stored project order', () => {
+    const projects = buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces({
+      serverId: 'srv',
+      workspaces: [
+        {
+          id: '/repo/c',
+          projectId: 'project-c',
+          name: 'feat/c',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-04T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+        {
+          id: '/repo/b',
+          projectId: 'project-b',
+          name: 'feat/b',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+        {
+          id: '/repo/a',
+          projectId: 'project-a',
+          name: 'feat/a',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+      ],
+      projectOrder: ['project-b', 'project-a', 'project-c'],
+      workspaceOrderByScope: {},
+    })
+
+    expect(projects.map((project) => project.projectKey)).toEqual(['project-b', 'project-a', 'project-c'])
+  })
+
+  it('preserves stored workspace order when workspace activity changes', () => {
+    const initialProjects = buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces({
+      serverId: 'srv',
+      workspaces: [
+        {
+          id: '/repo/main',
+          projectId: 'project-1',
+          name: 'main',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+        {
+          id: '/repo/feature',
+          projectId: 'project-1',
+          name: 'feature',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+      ],
+      projectOrder: ['project-1'],
+      workspaceOrderByScope: {},
+    })
+
+    const seededWorkspaceOrder = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+      currentOrder: [],
+      visibleKeys: initialProjects[0]?.workspaces.map((workspace) => workspace.workspaceKey) ?? [],
+    })
+
+    const projects = buildSidebarProjectsFromWorkspaces({
+      serverId: 'srv',
+      workspaces: [
+        {
+          id: '/repo/main',
+          projectId: 'project-1',
+          name: 'main',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+        {
+          id: '/repo/feature',
+          projectId: 'project-1',
+          name: 'feature',
+          status: 'running',
+          activityAt: new Date('2026-01-03T00:00:00.000Z'),
+        },
+      ],
+      projectOrder: ['project-1'],
+      workspaceOrderByScope: {
+        'srv::project-1': seededWorkspaceOrder,
+      },
+    })
+
+    expect(projects[0]?.workspaces.map((workspace) => workspace.workspaceId)).toEqual([
+      '/repo/main',
+      '/repo/feature',
+    ])
+  })
 })

packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useCallback, useMemo, useSyncExternalStore } from 'react'
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useSyncExternalStore } from 'react'
 import { useSessionStore } from '@/stores/session-store'
 import { getHostRuntimeStore } from '@/runtime/host-runtime'
 import { useSidebarOrderStore } from '@/stores/sidebar-order-store'
@@ -217,6 +217,23 @@ export function applyStoredOrdering<T>(input: {
   return ordered
 }
 
+export function appendMissingOrderKeys(input: {
+  currentOrder: string[]
+  visibleKeys: string[]
+}): string[] {
+  if (input.visibleKeys.length === 0) {
+    return input.currentOrder
+  }
+
+  const existingKeys = new Set(input.currentOrder)
+  const missingKeys = input.visibleKeys.filter((key) => !existingKeys.has(key))
+  if (missingKeys.length === 0) {
+    return input.currentOrder
+  }
+
+  return [...input.currentOrder, ...missingKeys]
+}
+
 function getWorkspaceOrderScopeKey(serverId: string, projectKey: string): string {
   return `${serverId.trim()}::${projectKey.trim()}`
 }
@@ -296,6 +313,35 @@ export function useSidebarWorkspacesList(options?: {
     })
   }, [persistedProjectOrder, persistedWorkspaceOrderByScope, serverId, sessionWorkspaces])
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!serverId || projects.length === 0) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const nextProjectOrder = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+      currentOrder: persistedProjectOrder,
+      visibleKeys: projects.map((project) => project.projectKey),
+    })
+    if (nextProjectOrder !== persistedProjectOrder) {
+      useSidebarOrderStore.getState().setProjectOrder(serverId, nextProjectOrder)
+    }
+
+    for (const project of projects) {
+      const workspaceOrderScopeKey = getWorkspaceOrderScopeKey(serverId, project.projectKey)
+      const persistedWorkspaceOrder =
+        persistedWorkspaceOrderByScope[workspaceOrderScopeKey] ?? EMPTY_ORDER
+      const nextWorkspaceOrder = appendMissingOrderKeys({
+        currentOrder: persistedWorkspaceOrder,
+        visibleKeys: project.workspaces.map((workspace) => workspace.workspaceKey),
+      })
+      if (nextWorkspaceOrder !== persistedWorkspaceOrder) {
+        useSidebarOrderStore
+          .getState()
+          .setWorkspaceOrder(serverId, project.projectKey, nextWorkspaceOrder)
+      }
+    }
+  }, [persistedProjectOrder, persistedWorkspaceOrderByScope, projects, serverId])
+
   const refreshAll = useCallback(() => {
     if (!isActive || !serverId || connectionStatus !== 'online' || !enabled) {
       return