Option to keep pinned threads inside their project folder in the boring sidebar

[jabezborja]

What happened

Feature request. With the boring sidebar (group by project) on, pinning a thread moves it out of
its project folder and into the global Pinned section above all folders. I want an option to pin
a thread inside its project, so it stays at the top of that project's folder instead.

Proposed behaviour, as a setting under Settings → Labs, next to the boring sidebar toggle
(for example "Keep pinned threads in their project folder"):

• Pinned threads show at the top of their project's folder, above unpinned threads, with the pin icon.
• The global Pinned section no longer shows those threads.
• With the setting off, nothing changes.

Open questions:

• Should a closed folder still show its pinned threads, or only count them?
• Where should pinned threads go if they have no folder to sit in?

Diagnosis

Not a bug: this is the documented design. Pinned status takes priority over project grouping:

• resolveSidebarThreadSection returns "pinned" for any pinned thread that isn't snoozed or settled
  (apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.ts:183).
• Folders are built only from activeThreads, so pinned threads never reach them
  (apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.tsx:525).

Pins are stored on the server (pinnedAt, pinOrderKey), and the boring sidebar is a per-device
setting. This could likely be a client-side display change using the existing pin data, leaving
other devices and the flat sidebar unaffected.

Steps to reproduce

1. Turn on Settings → Labs → Boring sidebar (group by project).
2. Open a project folder that has several threads.
3. Pin one of them from its menu.
4. The thread leaves the folder and appears in the Pinned section above all folders.

Version

0.1.8-nightly.20261106.4247

Environment

T3 Code Desktop on macOS, with the server on Linux x64 (same version).

Evidence

docs/user/thread-sidebar.md:159: "Pinned threads stay above the folders, and Snoozed and Settled
stay below them." The same sentence is on main.

Related

• feat(web): boring sidebar groups threads into project folders #21039: added boring sidebar project folders
• feat: pin favorite projects and archive old ones #26154: pin favorite projects (pins a whole folder, not a thread within it)
• feat(web): pinned threads collapse like the sidebar shelves #19690: open PR, collapsible Pinned section
• feat(clients): add a pinned thread view toggle #15883: open PR, separate pinned view
• feat(mobile): add opt-in Boring sidebar project folders #29856: open PR, boring sidebar on mobile

Workaround

None that keeps a thread at the top of its folder. Pinning the project moves the whole folder up.
Sending a message moves the thread to the top of its folder only until another thread gets a message.

Agent

Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code, via T3 Code triage.

[chomamateusz]

+1, and an answer to the first open question from daily use: a closed folder should still show its pinned threads. A closed folder already keeps the open thread visible, and a thread pinned in the project is the same kind of row: the one I want to reach without opening the folder. I would keep both levels. The global pin stays for the few threads that matter across everything, and "pin in project" keeps a thread under its own folder header. More on how I use folders with ~30 projects: #36370