feat(desktop): split cron sessions into their own sidebar section

Scheduler sessions (source=cron) were listed in recents, where their
`[IMPORTANT: …]` first-message previews spammed the list — and because
cron runs are always newest, a burst of them consumed the whole recents
page budget and starved real conversations (sidebar showed 0 sessions).

Recents and cron jobs are now two independent lists:
- Backend: /api/sessions + /api/profiles/sessions accept source /
  exclude_sources; session_count gains exclude_sources. Recents query
  excludes cron; the cron section queries source=cron.
- Desktop: separate $cronSessions store + refreshCronSessions fetch, a
  collapsed (persisted) "Cron jobs" section below Sessions that only
  renders when cron sessions exist, with its own bounded scroller.

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/index.tsx

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import {
   $panesFlipped,
   $pinnedSessionIds,
   $sidebarAgentsGrouped,
+  $sidebarCronOpen,
   $sidebarOpen,
   $sidebarPinsOpen,
   $sidebarRecentsOpen,
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ import {
   reorderPinnedSession,
   SESSION_SEARCH_FOCUS_EVENT,
   setSidebarAgentsGrouped,
+  setSidebarCronOpen,
   setSidebarPinsOpen,
   setSidebarRecentsOpen,
   SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE,
@@ -65,6 +67,7 @@ import {
   normalizeProfileKey
 } from '@/store/profile'
 import {
+  $cronSessions,
   $selectedStoredSessionId,
   $sessionProfileTotals,
   $sessions,
@@ -243,8 +246,10 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
   const pinnedSessionIds = useStore($pinnedSessionIds)
   const pinsOpen = useStore($sidebarPinsOpen)
   const agentsOpen = useStore($sidebarRecentsOpen)
+  const cronOpen = useStore($sidebarCronOpen)
   const selectedSessionId = useStore($selectedStoredSessionId)
   const sessions = useStore($sessions)
+  const cronSessions = useStore($cronSessions)
   const sessionsLoading = useStore($sessionsLoading)
   const sessionsTotal = useStore($sessionsTotal)
   const sessionProfileTotals = useStore($sessionProfileTotals)
@@ -323,7 +328,10 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
   const sessionByAnyId = useMemo(() => {
     const map = new Map<string, SessionInfo>()
 
-    for (const s of visibleSessions) {
+    // Cron sessions are listed separately but can still be pinned, so index
+    // them too — otherwise a pinned cron job can't resolve into the Pinned
+    // section. Recents take precedence on id collisions (set last).
+    for (const s of [...cronSessions, ...visibleSessions]) {
       map.set(s.id, s)
 
       if (s._lineage_root_id && !map.has(s._lineage_root_id)) {
@@ -332,7 +340,7 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
     }
 
     return map
-  }, [visibleSessions])
+  }, [visibleSessions, cronSessions])
 
   const pinnedSessions = useMemo(() => {
     const seen = new Set<string>()
@@ -405,6 +413,17 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
     return [...out.values()]
   }, [trimmedQuery, sortedSessions, serverMatches, sessionByAnyId])
 
+  // Cron-job sessions are a fully independent list (fetched separately so they
+  // never consume the recents page budget). Scope them like recents and drop
+  // any that are pinned (pin wins) to avoid a double-listing.
+  const visibleCronSessions = useMemo(() => {
+    const scoped = showAllProfiles
+      ? cronSessions
+      : cronSessions.filter(s => normalizeProfileKey(s.profile) === profileScope)
+
+    return scoped.filter(s => !pinnedRealIdSet.has(s.id)).sort((a, b) => sessionTime(b) - sessionTime(a))
+  }, [cronSessions, showAllProfiles, profileScope, pinnedRealIdSet])
+
   const unpinnedAgentSessions = useMemo(
     () => sortedSessions.filter(s => !pinnedRealIdSet.has(s.id)),
     [sortedSessions, pinnedRealIdSet]
@@ -482,7 +501,10 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
   ])
 
   const showSessionSkeletons = sessionsLoading && sortedSessions.length === 0
-  const showSessionSections = showSessionSkeletons || sortedSessions.length > 0
+
+  const showSessionSections =
+    showSessionSkeletons || sortedSessions.length > 0 || visibleCronSessions.length > 0
+
   // Pagination is scope-aware. In "All profiles" mode it tracks the global
   // unified set. When scoped to one profile it must compare that profile's own
   // loaded rows against that profile's total — otherwise a huge default profile
@@ -759,6 +781,26 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
           />
         )}
 
+        {sidebarOpen && showSessionSections && !trimmedQuery && visibleCronSessions.length > 0 && (
+          <SidebarSessionsSection
+            activeSessionId={activeSidebarSessionId}
+            contentClassName="flex max-h-64 shrink-0 flex-col gap-px overflow-y-auto overscroll-contain pb-1.75"
+            emptyState={null}
+            label={s.cronJobs}
+            labelMeta={String(visibleCronSessions.length)}
+            onArchiveSession={onArchiveSession}
+            onDeleteSession={onDeleteSession}
+            onResumeSession={onResumeSession}
+            onToggle={() => setSidebarCronOpen(!cronOpen)}
+            onTogglePin={pinSession}
+            open={cronOpen}
+            pinned={false}
+            rootClassName="shrink-0 p-0 pb-1"
+            sessions={visibleCronSessions}
+            workingSessionIdSet={workingSessionIdSet}
+          />
+        )}
+
         {sidebarOpen && !showSessionSections && <div className="min-h-0 flex-1" />}
 
         {sidebarOpen && (

apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import {
   sessionPinId,
   setAwaitingResponse,
   setBusy,
+  setCronSessions,
   setCurrentBranch,
   setCurrentCwd,
   setCurrentModel,
@@ -101,6 +102,11 @@ const ProfilesView = lazy(async () => ({ default: (await import('./profiles')).P
 const SettingsView = lazy(async () => ({ default: (await import('./settings')).SettingsView }))
 const SkillsView = lazy(async () => ({ default: (await import('./skills')).SkillsView }))
 
+// Latest cron-job sessions surfaced in the collapsed "Cron jobs" section. The
+// section shows the most-recent jobs, not the full history (that lives in
+// search), so this stays small and is fetched as a single bounded page.
+const CRON_SECTION_LIMIT = 50
+
 // Rows a session refresh must preserve even if the aggregator omits them:
 // in-flight first turns (message_count 0), pinned rows aged off the page, and
 // the actively-viewed chat (its "working" flag clears a beat before the
@@ -224,6 +230,21 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     }
   }, [])
 
+  // Cron-job sessions as their own list (latest N). Independent of the recents
+  // page so the two never compete for slots. Cheap + bounded; refreshed
+  // alongside recents.
+  const refreshCronSessions = useCallback(async () => {
+    try {
+      const { sessions } = await listAllProfileSessions(CRON_SECTION_LIMIT, 1, 'exclude', 'recent', 'all', {
+        source: 'cron'
+      })
+
+      setCronSessions(sessions)
+    } catch {
+      // Non-fatal: the cron section just stays empty/stale.
+    }
+  }, [])
+
   const refreshSessions = useCallback(async () => {
     const requestId = refreshSessionsRequestRef.current + 1
     refreshSessionsRequestRef.current = requestId
@@ -231,13 +252,18 @@ export function DesktopController() {
 
     try {
       const limit = $sessionsLimit.get()
+
       // Require at least one message so abandoned/empty "Untitled" drafts (one
       // was created per TUI/desktop launch before the lazy-create fix) don't
       // clutter the sidebar.
       // Unified cross-profile list (served read-only off each profile's
       // state.db; no per-profile backend is spawned). Single-profile users get
-      // the same rows tagged profile="default".
-      const result = await listAllProfileSessions(limit, 1)
+      // the same rows tagged profile="default". Cron sessions are excluded here
+      // and fetched separately (refreshCronSessions) so the scheduler's
+      // always-newest rows can't consume the recents page budget.
+      const result = await listAllProfileSessions(limit, 1, 'exclude', 'recent', 'all', {
+        excludeSources: ['cron']
+      })
 
       if (refreshSessionsRequestRef.current === requestId) {
         setSessions(prev => mergeSessionPage(prev, result.sessions, sessionsToKeep()))
@@ -249,7 +275,9 @@ export function DesktopController() {
         setSessionsLoading(false)
       }
     }
-  }, [])
+
+    void refreshCronSessions()
+  }, [refreshCronSessions])
 
   const loadMoreSessions = useCallback(() => {
     bumpSessionsLimit()
@@ -262,7 +290,11 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     const key = normalizeProfileKey(profile)
     const inKey = (s: SessionInfo) => normalizeProfileKey(s.profile) === key
     const loaded = $sessions.get().filter(inKey).length
-    const result = await listAllProfileSessions(loaded + SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE, 1, 'exclude', 'recent', key)
+
+    const result = await listAllProfileSessions(loaded + SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE, 1, 'exclude', 'recent', key, {
+      excludeSources: ['cron']
+    })
+
     const keep = sessionsToKeep(key)
 
     setSessions(prev => [...prev.filter(s => !inKey(s)), ...mergeSessionPage(prev.filter(inKey), result.sessions, keep)])

apps/desktop/src/hermes.ts

@@ -149,17 +149,33 @@ export async function listSessions(
 // primary backend straight off each profile's state.db — no per-profile backend
 // is spawned. Single-profile users get the same rows as listSessions(), tagged
 // profile="default".
+// Source scoping lets callers split the unified list into independent slices:
+// recents pass `excludeSources: ['cron']`, the cron-jobs section passes
+// `source: 'cron'`. Without this a burst of (always-newest) cron sessions
+// consumes the whole recents page and starves real conversations.
+export interface SessionSourceFilter {
+  source?: string
+  excludeSources?: string[]
+}
+
 export async function listAllProfileSessions(
   limit = 40,
   minMessages = 0,
   archived: 'exclude' | 'include' | 'only' = 'exclude',
   order: 'created' | 'recent' = 'recent',
-  profile: 'all' | (string & {}) = 'all'
+  profile: 'all' | (string & {}) = 'all',
+  filter: SessionSourceFilter = {}
 ): Promise<PaginatedSessions> {
+  const sourceParam = filter.source ? `&source=${encodeURIComponent(filter.source)}` : ''
+
+  const excludeParam = filter.excludeSources?.length
+    ? `&exclude_sources=${encodeURIComponent(filter.excludeSources.join(','))}`
+    : ''
+
   const result = await window.hermesDesktop.api<PaginatedSessions>({
     path:
       `/api/profiles/sessions?limit=${limit}&offset=0&min_messages=${Math.max(0, minMessages)}` +
-      `&archived=${archived}&order=${order}&profile=${encodeURIComponent(profile)}`
+      `&archived=${archived}&order=${order}&profile=${encodeURIComponent(profile)}${sourceParam}${excludeParam}`
   })
 
   return {

apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts

@@ -1044,6 +1044,7 @@ export const en: Translations = {
     results: 'Results',
     pinned: 'Pinned',
     sessions: 'Sessions',
+    cronJobs: 'Cron jobs',
     groupAriaGrouped: 'Show sessions as a single list',
     groupAriaUngrouped: 'Group sessions by workspace',
     groupTitleGrouped: 'Ungroup sessions',

apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts

@@ -1147,6 +1147,7 @@ export const ja = defineLocale({
     results: '結果',
     pinned: 'ピン留め',
     sessions: 'セッション',
+    cronJobs: 'Cronジョブ',
     groupAriaGrouped: 'セッションを単一リストとして表示',
     groupAriaUngrouped: 'ワークスペースごとにセッションをグループ化',
     groupTitleGrouped: 'セッションのグループ化を解除',

apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts

@@ -801,6 +801,7 @@ export interface Translations {
     results: string
     pinned: string
     sessions: string
+    cronJobs: string
     groupAriaGrouped: string
     groupAriaUngrouped: string
     groupTitleGrouped: string

apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts

@@ -1113,6 +1113,7 @@ export const zhHant = defineLocale({
     results: '結果',
     pinned: '已釘選',
     sessions: '工作階段',
+    cronJobs: '排程任務',
     groupAriaGrouped: '以單一清單顯示工作階段',
     groupAriaUngrouped: '依工作區分組工作階段',
     groupTitleGrouped: '取消分組',

apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts

@@ -1191,6 +1191,7 @@ export const zh: Translations = {
     results: '结果',
     pinned: '已置顶',
     sessions: '会话',
+    cronJobs: '定时任务',
     groupAriaGrouped: '以单一列表显示会话',
     groupAriaUngrouped: '按工作区分组会话',
     groupTitleGrouped: '取消分组',

apps/desktop/src/store/layout.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ export const SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE = 50
 
 const SIDEBAR_PINNED_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.pinnedSessions'
 const SIDEBAR_AGENTS_GROUPED_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.agentsGroupedByWorkspace'
+const SIDEBAR_CRON_OPEN_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.sidebarCronOpen'
 const PANES_FLIPPED_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.panesFlipped'
 
 export const CHAT_SIDEBAR_PANE_ID = 'chat-sidebar'
@@ -54,6 +55,10 @@ export const $sidebarWidth: ReadableAtom<number> = computed($paneStates, states
 export const $pinnedSessionIds = atom(storedStringArray(SIDEBAR_PINNED_STORAGE_KEY))
 export const $sidebarPinsOpen = atom(true)
 export const $sidebarRecentsOpen = atom(true)
+// Cron-job sessions live in their own section below recents, collapsed by
+// default (it only renders at all when cron sessions exist) so the
+// scheduler's `[IMPORTANT: …]` first-message previews don't spam recents.
+export const $sidebarCronOpen = atom(storedBoolean(SIDEBAR_CRON_OPEN_STORAGE_KEY, false))
 export const $sidebarAgentsGrouped = atom(storedBoolean(SIDEBAR_AGENTS_GROUPED_STORAGE_KEY, false))
 // When true, the sessions sidebar moves to the right and the file browser +
 // preview rail move to the left — a mirror of the default layout.
@@ -62,6 +67,7 @@ export const $isSidebarResizing = atom(false)
 export const $sessionsLimit = atom(SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE)
 
 $pinnedSessionIds.subscribe(ids => persistStringArray(SIDEBAR_PINNED_STORAGE_KEY, [...ids]))
+$sidebarCronOpen.subscribe(open => persistBoolean(SIDEBAR_CRON_OPEN_STORAGE_KEY, open))
 $sidebarAgentsGrouped.subscribe(grouped => persistBoolean(SIDEBAR_AGENTS_GROUPED_STORAGE_KEY, grouped))
 $panesFlipped.subscribe(flipped => persistBoolean(PANES_FLIPPED_STORAGE_KEY, flipped))
 
@@ -114,6 +120,10 @@ export function setSidebarRecentsOpen(open: boolean) {
   $sidebarRecentsOpen.set(open)
 }
 
+export function setSidebarCronOpen(open: boolean) {
+  $sidebarCronOpen.set(open)
+}
+
 export function setSidebarAgentsGrouped(grouped: boolean) {
   $sidebarAgentsGrouped.set(grouped)
 }

apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts

@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ export const $connection = atom<HermesConnection | null>(null)
 export const $gatewayState = atom('idle')
 export const $sessions = atom<SessionInfo[]>([])
 export const $sessionsTotal = atom<number>(0)
+// Cron-job sessions (source === 'cron') are fetched as their own list so the
+// scheduler's always-newest sessions never crowd recents out of the page
+// budget. Powers the collapsed "Cron jobs" sidebar section.
+export const $cronSessions = atom<SessionInfo[]>([])
 // Listable conversation count per profile (children excluded), keyed by profile
 // name. Lets the sidebar scope its "Load more" footer to the active profile so a
 // huge default profile doesn't keep "Load more" visible while browsing a small
@@ -119,6 +123,7 @@ export const setConnection = (next: Updater<HermesConnection | null>) => updateA
 export const setGatewayState = (next: Updater<string>) => updateAtom($gatewayState, next)
 export const setSessions = (next: Updater<SessionInfo[]>) => updateAtom($sessions, next)
 export const setSessionsTotal = (next: Updater<number>) => updateAtom($sessionsTotal, next)
+export const setCronSessions = (next: Updater<SessionInfo[]>) => updateAtom($cronSessions, next)
 export const setSessionProfileTotals = (next: Updater<Record<string, number>>) =>
   updateAtom($sessionProfileTotals, next)
 export const setSessionsLoading = (next: Updater<boolean>) => updateAtom($sessionsLoading, next)

hermes_cli/web_server.py

@@ -1574,6 +1574,8 @@ async def get_sessions(
     min_messages: int = 0,
     archived: str = "exclude",
     order: str = "created",
+    source: str = None,
+    exclude_sources: str = None,
 ):
     """List sessions.
 
@@ -1604,7 +1606,14 @@ async def get_sessions(
             min_message_count = max(0, min_messages)
             archived_only = archived == "only"
             include_archived = archived == "include"
+            # Optional source scoping: ``source`` includes a single class,
+            # ``exclude_sources`` (comma-separated) drops classes. The desktop
+            # uses these to split recents (exclude=cron) from the cron-jobs
+            # section (source=cron) into two independent lists.
+            exclude_list = [s for s in (exclude_sources or "").split(",") if s.strip()]
             sessions = db.list_sessions_rich(
+                source=source or None,
+                exclude_sources=exclude_list or None,
                 limit=limit,
                 offset=offset,
                 min_message_count=min_message_count,
@@ -1613,6 +1622,8 @@ async def get_sessions(
                 order_by_last_active=order == "recent",
             )
             total = db.session_count(
+                source=source or None,
+                exclude_sources=exclude_list or None,
                 min_message_count=min_message_count,
                 include_archived=include_archived,
                 archived_only=archived_only,
@@ -1642,6 +1653,8 @@ async def get_profiles_sessions(
     archived: str = "exclude",
     order: str = "recent",
     profile: str = "all",
+    source: str = None,
+    exclude_sources: str = None,
 ):
     """Unified, read-only session list aggregated across ALL profiles.
 
@@ -1677,6 +1690,11 @@ async def get_profiles_sessions(
     min_message_count = max(0, min_messages)
     archived_only = archived == "only"
     include_archived = archived == "include"
+    # Source scoping (see /api/sessions): recents pass exclude_sources=cron,
+    # the cron-jobs section passes source=cron — two independent lists so
+    # newest cron sessions can't starve the recents page.
+    source_filter = source or None
+    exclude_list = [s for s in (exclude_sources or "").split(",") if s.strip()]
     # Over-fetch per profile so the merged+sorted window is correct for the
     # requested page. Capped so a huge profile can't blow up the response.
     per_profile = min(max(limit + offset, limit), 500)
@@ -1700,6 +1718,8 @@ async def get_profiles_sessions(
             continue
         try:
             rows = db.list_sessions_rich(
+                source=source_filter,
+                exclude_sources=exclude_list or None,
                 limit=per_profile,
                 offset=0,
                 min_message_count=min_message_count,
@@ -1708,6 +1728,8 @@ async def get_profiles_sessions(
                 order_by_last_active=order == "recent",
             )
             profile_total = db.session_count(
+                source=source_filter,
+                exclude_sources=exclude_list or None,
                 min_message_count=min_message_count,
                 include_archived=include_archived,
                 archived_only=archived_only,

hermes_state.py

@@ -3198,6 +3198,7 @@ class SessionDB:
         include_archived: bool = False,
         archived_only: bool = False,
         exclude_children: bool = False,
+        exclude_sources: List[str] = None,
     ) -> int:
         """Count sessions, optionally filtered by source.
 
@@ -3207,6 +3208,11 @@ class SessionDB:
         is paired with a ``list_sessions_rich`` page (e.g. sidebar "load more"
         totals) so the total matches the number of listable rows — otherwise the
         raw row count is inflated by children and "load more" never settles.
+
+        Pass ``exclude_sources`` to drop whole source classes from the count
+        (e.g. ``["cron"]`` so the recents "load more" total matches a
+        cron-excluded ``list_sessions_rich`` page and doesn't keep "load more"
+        stuck on for buried scheduler sessions).
         """
         where_clauses = []
         params = []
@@ -3225,6 +3231,10 @@ class SessionDB:
         if source:
             where_clauses.append("s.source = ?")
             params.append(source)
+        if exclude_sources:
+            placeholders = ",".join("?" for _ in exclude_sources)
+            where_clauses.append(f"s.source NOT IN ({placeholders})")
+            params.extend(exclude_sources)
         if min_message_count > 0:
             where_clauses.append("s.message_count >= ?")
             params.append(min_message_count)