feat(session): make generated titles optional

packages/app/src/components/titlebar-tab-nav.tsx

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { SessionTabAvatar } from "@/pages/layout/session-tab-avatar"
 import type { Session } from "@opencode-ai/sdk/v2"
 import { canOpenTabRename, forwardTabRef } from "./titlebar-tab-gesture"
 import { TabPreviewPopover } from "./titlebar-tab-popover"
+import { sessionTitle } from "@/utils/session-title"
 import "./titlebar-tab-nav.css"
 
 // MouseEvent.button uses 1 for the middle/wheel button.
@@ -54,7 +55,10 @@ export function TabNavItem(props: {
     if (!session) return
     return projectForSession(session, serverCtx()?.projects.list() ?? [])
   })
-  const title = createMemo(() => props.session()?.title ?? props.fallbackTitle)
+  const title = createMemo(() => {
+    const session = props.session()
+    return session ? sessionTitle(session.title, session.parentID) : props.fallbackTitle
+  })
 
   const projectName = createMemo(() => {
     const session = props.session()
@@ -143,7 +147,7 @@ export function TabNavItem(props: {
     if (!canOpenTabRename(props.dragging, editing(), rename.isPending)) return
     const session = props.session()
     if (!session) return
-    titleEl.textContent = session.title
+    titleEl.textContent = session.title ?? ""
     setEditing(true)
 
     requestAnimationFrame(() => {
@@ -302,7 +306,7 @@ export function TabNavItem(props: {
       }}
       data={{
         projectName: projectName(),
-        title: props.session()?.title,
+        title: title(),
         path: previewPath(),
         serverName: serverLabel(),
       }}

packages/app/src/pages/home/home-session-search-controller.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createMemo, onCleanup } from "solid-js"
 import { createStore } from "solid-js/store"
 import type { HomeController } from "./home-controller"
 import { homeSessionSearchKey, type HomeSessionRecord, type HomeSessionsController } from "./home-sessions-controller"
+import { sessionTitle } from "@/utils/session-title"
 
 type HomeSessionSearchSource = Pick<HomeSessionsController, "data" | "session">
 
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ export function createHomeSessionSearchController(home: HomeController, sessions
     if (!value) return []
     return sessions.data
       .searchRecords()
-      .filter((record) => `${record.session.title} ${record.projectName}`.toLowerCase().includes(value))
+      .filter((record) => `${sessionTitle(record.session.title)} ${record.projectName}`.toLowerCase().includes(value))
   })
   const active = createMemo(() => {
     const records = results()

packages/app/src/pages/layout/sidebar-items.tsx

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ const SessionRow = (props: {
   warmPress: () => void
   warmFocus: () => void
 }): JSX.Element => {
-  const title = () => sessionTitle(props.session.title)
+  const title = () => sessionTitle(props.session.title, props.session.parentID)
 
   return (
     <A
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ export const SessionItem = (props: SessionItemProps): JSX.Element => {
               fallback={
                 <Tooltip
                   placement={props.mobile ? "bottom" : "right"}
-                  value={sessionTitle(props.session.title)}
+                  value={sessionTitle(props.session.title, props.session.parentID)}
                   gutter={10}
                   class="min-w-0 w-full"
                 >

packages/app/src/pages/session/timeline/message-timeline.tsx

@@ -297,7 +297,11 @@ export function MessageTimeline(props: {
     return sync().session.get(id)
   })
   const titleValue = createMemo(() => info()?.title)
-  const titleLabel = createMemo(() => sessionTitle(titleValue()))
+  const titleLabel = createMemo(() => {
+    const session = info()
+    if (!session) return
+    return sessionTitle(titleValue(), session.parentID)
+  })
   const shareUrl = createMemo(() => info()?.share?.url)
   const shareEnabled = createMemo(() => sync().data.config.share !== "disabled")
   const parentID = createMemo(() => info()?.parentID)
@@ -311,7 +315,10 @@ export function MessageTimeline(props: {
     if (!id) return emptyMessages
     return sync().data.message[id] ?? emptyMessages
   })
-  const parentTitle = createMemo(() => sessionTitle(parent()?.title) ?? language.t("command.session.new"))
+  const parentTitle = createMemo(() => {
+    const session = parent()
+    return session ? sessionTitle(session.title, session.parentID) : language.t("command.session.new")
+  })
   const getMsgParts = (msgId: string) => sync().data.part[msgId] ?? emptyParts
   const getMsgPart = (messageID: string, partID: string) => getMsgParts(messageID).find((part) => part.id === partID)
   const childTaskDescription = createMemo(() => {
@@ -329,7 +336,7 @@ export function MessageTimeline(props: {
     if (value) return value
     return language.t("command.session.new")
   })
-  const showHeader = createMemo(() => !!(titleValue() || parentID()))
+  const showHeader = createMemo(() => !!(titleLabel() || parentID()))
   const projection = createTimelineProjection({
     messages: sessionMessages,
     userMessages: () => props.userMessages,
@@ -912,9 +919,10 @@ export function MessageTimeline(props: {
   }
 
   function DialogDeleteSession(props: { sessionID: string }) {
-    const name = createMemo(
-      () => sessionTitle(sync().session.get(props.sessionID)?.title) ?? language.t("command.session.new"),
-    )
+    const name = createMemo(() => {
+      const session = sync().session.get(props.sessionID)
+      return session ? sessionTitle(session.title, session.parentID) : language.t("command.session.new")
+    })
     const handleDelete = async () => {
       await deleteSession(props.sessionID)
       dialog.close()

packages/app/src/utils/session-title.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test"
+import { sessionTitle } from "./session-title"
+
+describe("sessionTitle", () => {
+  test("uses a display fallback without persisting it", () => {
+    expect(sessionTitle(undefined)).toBe("New session")
+    expect(sessionTitle(undefined, "ses_parent")).toBe("Child session")
+    expect(sessionTitle("New session - 2026-07-30T18:45:03.662Z")).toBe("New session")
+    expect(sessionTitle("Generated title")).toBe("Generated title")
+  })
+})

packages/app/src/utils/session-title.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const pattern = /^(New session|Child session) - \d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\.\d{3}Z$/
 
-export function sessionTitle(title?: string) {
-  if (!title) return title
+export function sessionTitle(title?: string, parentID?: string) {
+  if (!title) return parentID ? "Child session" : "New session"
   const match = title.match(pattern)
   return match?.[1] ?? title
 }

packages/app/src/utils/session.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export function normalizeSessionInfo(input: SessionInfo | Session): Session {
     parentID: input.parentID,
     cost: input.cost,
     tokens: input.tokens,
-    title: input.title,
+    title: input.title ?? `${input.parentID ? "Child" : "New"} session - ${new Date(input.time.created).toISOString()}`,
     agent: input.agent,
     model: input.model,
     version: "",

packages/cli/src/acp/service.ts

@@ -213,7 +213,9 @@ export function make(input: { readonly client: OpenCodeClient; readonly connecti
         sessions: page.data.map((session) => ({
           sessionId: session.id,
           cwd: session.location.directory,
-          title: session.title,
+          title:
+            session.title ??
+            `${session.parentID ? "Child" : "New"} session - ${new Date(session.time.created).toISOString()}`,
           updatedAt: new Date(session.time.updated).toISOString(),
         })),
         ...(page.cursor.next ? { nextCursor: page.cursor.next } : {}),

packages/client/src/promise/generated/types.ts

@@ -1757,7 +1757,7 @@ export type SessionInfo = {
   cost: MoneyUSD
   tokens: TokenUsageInfo
   time: { created: number; updated: number; archived?: number }
-  title: string
+  title?: string
   location: LocationRef
   subpath?: string
   revert?: SessionRevert
@@ -2006,7 +2006,7 @@ export type SessionV1Info = {
   cost?: number
   tokens?: { input: number; output: number; reasoning: number; cache: { read: number; write: number } }
   share?: { url: string }
-  title: string
+  title?: string
   agent?: string
   model?: { id: string; providerID: string; variant?: string }
   version: string

packages/core/schema.json

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {
   "version": "7",
   "dialect": "sqlite",
-  "id": "db37a97f-9b5e-4c87-be8b-4feace35136c",
+  "id": "e43ed7e2-b9fc-4178-beae-3646e4a976e1",
   "prevIds": [
-    "a4ba73b4-21bc-41ab-a415-94e2ca38d798"
+    "db37a97f-9b5e-4c87-be8b-4feace35136c"
   ],
   "ddl": [
     {
@@ -1302,7 +1302,7 @@
     },
     {
       "type": "text",
-      "notNull": true,
+      "notNull": false,
       "autoincrement": false,
       "default": null,
       "generated": null,

packages/core/src/database/migration/20260730195856_optional_session_title.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { Effect } from "effect"
+import type { DatabaseMigration } from "../migration"
+
+export default {
+  id: "20260730195856_optional_session_title",
+  up(tx) {
+    return Effect.gen(function* () {
+      yield* tx.run(`ALTER TABLE \`session\` RENAME COLUMN \`title\` TO \`title_old\``)
+      yield* tx.run(`ALTER TABLE \`session\` ADD COLUMN \`title\` text`)
+      yield* tx.run(`UPDATE \`session\` SET \`title\` = \`title_old\``)
+      yield* tx.run(`ALTER TABLE \`session\` DROP COLUMN \`title_old\``)
+    })
+  },
+} satisfies DatabaseMigration.Migration

packages/core/src/database/schema.gen.ts

@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ export default {
           \`slug\` text NOT NULL,
           \`directory\` text NOT NULL,
           \`path\` text,
-          \`title\` text NOT NULL,
+          \`title\` text,
           \`version\` text NOT NULL,
           \`share_url\` text,
           \`summary_additions\` integer,

packages/core/src/session.ts

@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ const layer = Layer.effect(
           directory: location.directory,
           path: path.relative(project.directory, location.directory).replaceAll("\\", "/"),
           workspaceID: location.workspaceID ? Workspace.ID.make(location.workspaceID) : undefined,
-          title: input.title ?? `New session - ${new Date(now).toISOString()}`,
+          title: input.title,
           agent: input.agent,
           model: input.model
             ? {

packages/core/src/session/info.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export function fromRow(row: typeof SessionTable.$inferSelect): SessionSchema.In
   return SessionSchema.Info.make({
     id: SessionSchema.ID.make(row.id),
     projectID: Project.ID.make(row.project_id),
-    title: row.title,
+    title: row.title ?? undefined,
     parentID: row.parent_id ? SessionSchema.ID.make(row.parent_id) : undefined,
     fork:
       row.fork_session_id && row.fork_boundary

packages/core/src/session/projector.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ type Usage = {
 
 const ForkBatchSize = 500
 
-const forkTitle = (value: string) => {
+const forkTitle = (value?: string) => {
+  if (value === undefined) return
   const match = value.match(/^(.+) \(fork #(\d+)\)$/)
   if (match) return `${match[1]} (fork #${Number.parseInt(match[2], 10) + 1})`
   return `${value} (fork #1)`
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@ const projectFork = Effect.fn("SessionProjector.projectFork")(function* (
       slug: Slug.create(),
       directory: parent.directory,
       path: parent.path,
-      title: forkTitle(parent.title),
+      title: forkTitle(parent.title ?? undefined),
       agent: parent.agent,
       model: parent.model,
       version: parent.version,

packages/core/src/session/sql.ts

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ export const SessionTable = sqliteTable(
     slug: text().notNull(),
     directory: directoryColumn().notNull(),
     path: pathColumn(),
-    title: text().notNull(),
+    title: text(),
     version: text().notNull(),
     share_url: text(),
     summary_additions: integer(),

packages/core/test/database-migration.test.ts

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import timeSuspendedMigration from "@opencode-ai/core/database/migration/2026070
 import instructionSyncMigration from "@opencode-ai/core/database/migration/20260710025429_instruction_sync"
 import deleteToolProgressEventsMigration from "@opencode-ai/core/database/migration/20260722011141_delete_tool_progress_events"
 import canonicalToolResultsMigration from "@opencode-ai/core/database/migration/20260722170000_canonical_tool_results"
+import optionalSessionTitleMigration from "@opencode-ai/core/database/migration/20260730195856_optional_session_title"
 import { AppNodeBuilder } from "@opencode-ai/core/effect/app-node-builder"
 import { LayerNode } from "@opencode-ai/util/effect/layer-node"
 import { Bus } from "@opencode-ai/core/bus"
@@ -399,6 +400,40 @@ describe("DatabaseMigration", () => {
     ).rejects.toThrow("Database is not empty and has no session table")
   })
 
+  test("makes session titles nullable without deleting dependent rows", async () => {
+    await run(
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const db = yield* makeDb
+        yield* db.run(sql`PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON`)
+        yield* db.run(sql`
+          CREATE TABLE session (
+            id text PRIMARY KEY,
+            title text NOT NULL
+          )
+        `)
+        yield* db.run(sql`
+          CREATE TABLE message (
+            id text PRIMARY KEY,
+            session_id text NOT NULL REFERENCES session(id) ON DELETE CASCADE
+          )
+        `)
+        yield* db.run(sql`INSERT INTO session VALUES ('ses_existing', 'Existing title')`)
+        yield* db.run(sql`INSERT INTO message VALUES ('msg_existing', 'ses_existing')`)
+
+        yield* DatabaseMigration.applyOnly(db, [optionalSessionTitleMigration])
+
+        expect(yield* db.get(sql`SELECT title FROM session WHERE id = 'ses_existing'`)).toEqual({
+          title: "Existing title",
+        })
+        expect(yield* db.get(sql`SELECT id FROM message WHERE id = 'msg_existing'`)).toEqual({ id: "msg_existing" })
+        expect(
+          yield* db.get<{ notnull: number }>(sql`SELECT "notnull" FROM pragma_table_info('session') WHERE name = 'title'`),
+        ).toEqual({ notnull: 0 })
+        expect(yield* db.get<{ foreign_keys: number }>(sql`PRAGMA foreign_keys`)).toEqual({ foreign_keys: 1 })
+      }),
+    )
+  })
+
   test("backfills existing Context Epoch rows to the build agent", async () => {
     await run(
       Effect.gen(function* () {

packages/core/test/session-create.test.ts

@@ -71,6 +71,27 @@ function withTmp<A, E, R>(f: (directory: string) => Effect.Effect<A, E, R>) {
 }
 
 describe("Session.create", () => {
+  it.effect("persists a missing title until one is generated or supplied", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const session = yield* Session.Service
+      const { db } = yield* Database.Service
+
+      const created = yield* session.create({ location })
+      const row = yield* db.select().from(SessionTable).where(eq(SessionTable.id, created.id)).get().pipe(Effect.orDie)
+      const event = yield* db
+        .select({ data: EventTable.data })
+        .from(EventTable)
+        .where(eq(EventTable.aggregate_id, created.id))
+        .get()
+        .pipe(Effect.orDie)
+
+      expect(created.title).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(row?.title).toBeNull()
+      expect(event?.data).not.toHaveProperty("info.title")
+      expect((yield* session.create({ location, title: "Explicit title" })).title).toBe("Explicit title")
+    }),
+  )
+
   it.effect("creates a fresh projected session when the ID is omitted", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
       const session = yield* Session.Service
@@ -296,6 +317,23 @@ describe("Session.create", () => {
     }),
   )
 
+  it.effect("keeps a fork untitled when its parent is untitled", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const session = yield* Session.Service
+      const bus = yield* Bus.Service
+      const { db } = yield* Database.Service
+      const parent = yield* session.create({ location })
+      yield* session.prompt({ sessionID: parent.id, text: "First", resume: false })
+      yield* SessionPending.promote(db, bus, parent.id, "steer")
+
+      const forked = yield* session.fork({ sessionID: parent.id, boundary: { type: "through" } })
+      const row = yield* db.select().from(SessionTable).where(eq(SessionTable.id, forked.id)).get().pipe(Effect.orDie)
+
+      expect(forked.title).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(row?.title).toBeNull()
+    }),
+  )
+
   it.effect("rejects forking an empty session", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
       const session = yield* Session.Service

packages/core/test/tool-subagent.test.ts

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ const executionNode = makeGlobalNode({
       const completed = new Set<Session.ID>()
       const complete = Effect.fn("SubagentTest.complete")(function* (sessionID: Session.ID) {
         if (completed.has(sessionID)) return
-        if ((yield* store.get(sessionID))?.title.includes("fail")) {
+        if ((yield* store.get(sessionID))?.title?.includes("fail")) {
           yield* new SessionRunnerModel.ModelNotSelectedError({ sessionID })
           return
         }