From 272d3be6c8c4371ba57501befdbebb8d3872f341 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Brooklyn Nicholson <brooklyn.bb.nicholson@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:16:21 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] feat(desktop): find and reuse an open blank "New session" tab

An unused draft tab is the one a user would have typed into, so give the
tile store a way to name it (blankDraftTile) and hand it to another
session in place (reuseBlankDraftTile). A blank-but-busy tab has its
first turn in flight and an unbound tile is unknown rather than empty, so
neither is a candidate.
---
 apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.test.ts | 43 ++++++++++++++++++-
 apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.ts      | 36 ++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 78 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.test.ts
index 18d4142f104..f0b4d4c4faf 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
+import type { ClientSessionState } from '@/app/types'
 import { group, split } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/model'
 import type { SessionTile } from '@/store/session-states'
-import { focusedSessionNeedsRoute, orderTilesByTree, selectionHomesToWorkspace } from '@/store/session-states'
+import {
+  blankDraftTile,
+  focusedSessionNeedsRoute,
+  orderTilesByTree,
+  selectionHomesToWorkspace
+} from '@/store/session-states'
 
 const tile = (storedSessionId: string): SessionTile => ({ storedSessionId })
 const tilePane = (id: string) => `session-tile:${id}`
@@ -64,3 +70,38 @@ describe('focusedSessionNeedsRoute', () => {
     expect(focusedSessionNeedsRoute('tile', false)).toBe(false)
   })
 })
+
+describe('blankDraftTile', () => {
+  const bound = (storedSessionId: string, runtimeId: string): SessionTile => ({ runtimeId, storedSessionId })
+
+  const state = (messages: number, busy = false) =>
+    ({ busy, messages: Array.from({ length: messages }, (_, i) => ({ id: `m${i}` })) }) as ClientSessionState
+
+  it('finds the open tab whose session has no messages', () => {
+    const tiles = [bound('a', 'run-a'), bound('b', 'run-b')]
+    const states = { 'run-a': state(3), 'run-b': state(0) }
+
+    expect(blankDraftTile(tiles, states)).toEqual(tiles[1])
+  })
+
+  it('picks the most recent blank tab when there are several', () => {
+    const tiles = [bound('a', 'run-a'), bound('b', 'run-b')]
+    const states = { 'run-a': state(0), 'run-b': state(0) }
+
+    expect(blankDraftTile(tiles, states)).toEqual(tiles[1])
+  })
+
+  it('leaves a blank-but-busy tab alone — its first turn is already in flight', () => {
+    expect(blankDraftTile([bound('a', 'run-a')], { 'run-a': state(0, true) })).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('treats an unbound or unpublished tile as unknown, not empty', () => {
+    expect(blankDraftTile([tile('a')], {})).toBeNull()
+    expect(blankDraftTile([bound('a', 'run-a')], {})).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('is null when every open tab holds a conversation', () => {
+    expect(blankDraftTile([bound('a', 'run-a')], { 'run-a': state(2) })).toBeNull()
+    expect(blankDraftTile([], {})).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.ts
index 273b0315873..a44329f10d3 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/session-states.ts
@@ -636,6 +636,42 @@ export function focusedSessionNeedsRoute(focused: 'main' | 'tile' | null, worksp
   return !focused || (focused === 'main' && workspaceIsPage)
 }
 
+/** The open tab that's still an empty "New session" draft, if there is one.
+ *  That tab is the one the user would have typed into, so an open-from-nowhere
+ *  spends it instead of stacking a second blank tab beside it. Most recent
+ *  wins; a tile whose runtime hasn't bound (or whose state hasn't published) is
+ *  unknown rather than empty, so it's left alone. */
+export function blankDraftTile(
+  tiles: readonly SessionTile[],
+  states: Record<string, ClientSessionState>
+): null | SessionTile {
+  return (
+    tiles.findLast(({ runtimeId }) => {
+      const state = runtimeId ? states[runtimeId] : undefined
+
+      return Boolean(state && !state.busy && state.messages.length === 0)
+    }) ?? null
+  )
+}
+
+/** Hand an open blank draft tab over to `storedSessionId`, keeping its slot.
+ *  False when there's no such tab, so the caller can fall back. The spent draft
+ *  is DISCARDED rather than closed: it never held a conversation, so ⌘⇧T
+ *  resurrecting it would just restore an empty tab. */
+export function reuseBlankDraftTile(storedSessionId: string): boolean {
+  const tile = blankDraftTile($sessionTiles.get(), $sessionStates.get())
+
+  if (!tile || tile.storedSessionId === storedSessionId) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  discardSessionTile(tile.storedSessionId)
+  openSessionTile(storedSessionId, tile.dir, tile.anchor, tile.before)
+  revealTreePane(`${TILE_PANE_PREFIX}${storedSessionId}`)
+
+  return true
+}
+
 // Closed-tab stack for ⌘⇧T reopen (in-memory) — keyed PER PROFILE like the
 // tiles themselves, so ⌘⇧T after a profile switch never resurrects the other
 // profile's session. The tile's placement is remembered so it returns in place.