Bug: Sidebar Toggle Not Working After Collapse

[PragnyaKhandelwal]

In the deployed Streamlit app, once the sidebar is collapsed using the toggle button, it cannot be reopened. The toggle button becomes unresponsive, and on refreshing or reopening the app, the sidebar remains hidden with no way to toggle it back.

Steps to Reproduce:

Open the deployed Streamlit app.

Click the "≡" (toggle sidebar) button to collapse the sidebar.

Try clicking it again — nothing happens.

Refresh the app — sidebar still remains hidden.

Expected Behavior:
Clicking the toggle button should reopen the sidebar.

Impact:
This makes sidebar-based navigation or inputs completely inaccessible.

I would like to work on this issue. Please assign it to me.

[eccentriccoder01]

Thanks for reporting this bug in such detail @PragnyaKhandelwal, you're right. Assigning this issue to you, 2 days for this. Let us know if you run into anything, all the best!

[anuva0904]

Hello, I am an GSSoc'25 contributor please assign me this issue, I would like to contribute.
thankyou

[eccentriccoder01]

@anuva0904 This issue has already been assigned to the issue opener. If you believe you can improve this project meaningfully in unique and even better ways, you are always welcome to open new issues or work on unassigned ones.

[PragnyaKhandelwal]

Hi @eccentriccoder01, I am writing to you because I am encountering an issue with the sidebar toggle buttons. Currently, there are two such buttons: one on the main page and another within the sidebar navigation window. The main page button is functioning correctly. However, the button on the sidebar navigation window, which appears upon hover, needs to be removed. I have attempted to locate the source code for this specific sidebar button but have been unsuccessful. I was able to identify the main page button's source in `header.py`, but not the one causing this issue. Removing this redundant button is crucial to making the navigation toggle bug-free and straightforward. Could you please assist me in resolving this? Any guidance on locating and removing the source of this sidebar navigation toggle button would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance. Best regards, Pragnya Khandelwal

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On Mon, Jul 28, 2025 at 12:55 AM Sagnik Chakraborty < ***@***.***> wrote: *eccentriccoder01* left a comment (eccentriccoder01/TalkHeal#57) <#57 (comment)> Thanks for reporting this bug in such detail @PragnyaKhandelwal <https://github.com/PragnyaKhandelwal>, you're right. Assigning this issue to you, 2 days for this. Let us know if you run into anything, all the best! — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#57 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BKF6OLQL242CHRSMM3AULDT3KURQ5AVCNFSM6AAAAACCPEFBHWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTCMRUGY3TOMRSGE> . You are receiving this because you were assigned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[eccentriccoder01]

Thanks for reaching out with the details @PragnyaKhandelwal...You're right, the main page toggle button is expected behavior, but the secondary toggle button that appears within the sidebar itself is both unnecessary and confusing.
⚠️ As of the latest update, the sidebar toggle button has become completely non-functional when the cloud deployment link is opened on desktop screens and the sidebar never appears even on initial load (This doesn't happen when it's locally run using streamlit run TalkHeal.py. Locally, both the toggle buttons are functioning correctly on my laptop). However, this works perfectly on the mobile screen. Not sure if it's a Streamlit cloud issue or a code issue, I haven't checked the code lately.

Do one thing, pull the latest changes from upstream/main once to ensure you’re on the most updated codebase. Note all the bugs and update us here for deeper guidance, I'll check the code tomorrow. Sometimes the toggle behavior is embedded by Streamlit itself, so we might need a CSS-based or DOM-based solution. Thanks!

[PragnyaKhandelwal]

Thanks for the update! I pulled the latest changes from upstream/main to ensure I’m on the most recent codebase and tested it across both desktop and mobile devices.

Unfortunately, the issue still persists. The sidebar toggle button is non-functional on desktop when accessing the deployed version via the cloud link, and on mobile too, both sidebar toggle buttons appear and behave inconsistently—just like on the laptop.

I also tried running the deployed version you shared in the bio, but it seems to still be on an older version. The sidebar doesn't appear at all, and none of the sidebar buttons (except the theme toggle) are working. I think it might need to be updated to reflect the latest changes.

I’ve really tried to debug this thoroughly from my end, but the problem seems to be related to the deployment or how Streamlit handles things in the cloud. Let me know what you think once you get a chance to check the code—happy to help further!

[eccentriccoder01]

Thanks for the detailed follow-up @PragnyaKhandelwal...Yes, the sidebar toggle issue persists even after the recent fixes, but an improvement has been made: The black steeamlit topbar (where the toggle lives) is now visible again earlier it was hidden due to an aggressive CSS override. I tweaked it.
However, the hamburger toggle on the main page is still non-functional, especially in the cloud deployment on desktop. Locally it behaves fine as I said, which makes this tricky to pin down... could be a Streamlit Cloud-specific problem.

Also, just to clarify, the deployment you mentioned is based on the latest codebase (the main), so the issue isn’t due to old deployment. You're doing a great job debugging this. In the meantime, if you get any new insight (e.g. narrowing down which CSS element is blocking the sidebar reflow or JS triggers), feel free to reach out to us. Thanks for your efforts and patience BTW!

[PragnyaKhandelwal]

Thanks a lot for the clarity and confirmation on the current status!

I took some time to go through the deployment again and observe how the sidebar behaves, especially in the cloud environment, and here’s what I found:

• As you mentioned, the Streamlit top bar (where the sidebar toggle lives) is now visible again, which definitely improves usability.
• I agree that keeping just one consistent toggle on the top bar is a clean and effective solution — removing the in-page toggle avoids confusion and keeps the UI tidy.

(for reference: the top bar could be made like this with the theme and colour as of the background)

🎨 CSS/UI Inconsistencies Noticed:

1. Black Top Bar Styling

   • The current black top bar stands out a bit awkwardly against the rest of the UI.
   • I’d suggest matching its background color with the app’s theme or primary background to create a more cohesive visual feel.
   • Also, the buttons/icons on the top bar could be styled a bit better to look more polished and consistent with the overall design.

2. Layout Issues in Squeezed Sidebar Mode

   • When the sidebar is collapsed to its minimum width, the profile section text overlaps the profile icon.
   • This makes the layout look broken and misaligned—especially on smaller or squeezed screens.
   • This could likely be resolved with a minor CSS tweak (e.g., hiding or truncating text when the sidebar is minimized).

3. General UI Alignment

   • Minor inconsistencies in button alignment, spacing, and layout are noticeable across tabs.
   • For example, the main tab shows the black top bar while other tabs don’t, which breaks visual continuity.

I’d like to contribute some CSS improvements around:

• Making the top bar visually integrated with the theme
• Improving sidebar responsiveness (especially the profile section)
• Cleaning up button alignment for a more consistent UI

[eccentriccoder01]

@PragnyaKhandelwal you're right:

• Removing the redundant in-page toggle in favor of the consistent one on the top bar is needed.
• The issues you've highlighted - sidebar collapse bugs, text/icon overlap, and inconsistent alignment across views are required to be fixed too.

Since you're already deeply familiar with the sidebar structure and have proposed a clear plan forward,

• Fix the sidebar responsiveness in collapsed view (esp. profile section).
• Align buttons and elements for visual consistency across tabs.

But, the black topbar that appears in the deployed version is actually part of Streamlit Cloud’s UI layer, and not something we can style or override directly from within our app. It doesn't show up in local development for the same reason.

But I really appreciate your attention to detail and your willingness to work on these improvements. Since this issue is a bit puzzling, and you've proposed to work on another issue, I'm not tightening your work with any deadline, take your time. Reach out in case of any doubts!