ai titles for sessions

CLAUDE.md

@@ -109,8 +109,10 @@ src/ui.rs      ratatui rendering @ ~30fps; session list + scrollable feed
                (`lane_tokens` / `lane_dur`) over the wire-counted `out …`. See
                the subagent-popup invariant.
                Sessions panel is a uniform 50% of the main area: each session
-               is a multi-line item — full white title (live = first user
-               prompt via `live_title`, stub = disk label, word-wrapped by
+               is a multi-line item — full white title (Claude Code's own name
+               for the session via `App::cc_title`, live rows and stubs alike;
+               `live_title` only covers a live session the transcript has not
+               named yet — word-wrapped by
                `wrap_words`) over a dimmed id·model meta row; expanded turn
                rows are indented past the title and `truncate_str`'d to one
                line each.
@@ -120,7 +122,8 @@ src/markdown.rs wraps tui-markdown: renders GFM tables itself (box-drawing,
 src/sessions.rs on-disk session history (main chain *and* subagents):
                background scanner thread keeps
                App::disk_sessions fresh (~1/s poll, `read_meta` re-read only on
-               mtime change — one pass yields the label *and* the session's
+               mtime change — one pass yields the title (see the session-name
+               invariant) *and* the session's
                last main-chain model, which `App::resume_model` turns into the
                `--model` a resume spawns with — always at `[1m]`);
                load_view/load_history rebuild a feed Session
@@ -431,6 +434,21 @@ agentId: <hex>`), and the real completion is injected into the parent's next
   the guard for sessions whose instance we killed ourselves). `--session-id`
   cannot be combined with `--resume` (CLI rejects it without `--fork-session`);
   `--model` can, and every resume passes it.
+- **A session's name is Claude Code's, not ours.** `sessions::read_meta` reads
+  the same records its `/resume` picker does, in the same order —
+  `custom-title` (a manual rename, newest wins) > `ai-title` (Claude's
+  generated title, *first* wins so a materialized branch keeps its own `⑂ …`
+  label) > `last-prompt` (the newest prompt, which is what an untitled session
+  shows there) > a legacy compaction `summary` > the opening user prompt — so a
+  row reads the same in both places. It applies to **live** sessions too
+  (`App::cc_title`): Claude Code writes the JSONL continuously, so a running
+  row and its later disk stub cannot disagree, and the title tracks the newest
+  prompt exactly as the picker's does. Two fallbacks stay, for the gap before
+  the file names anything: `ui::live_title` (the feed's own first prompt) for a
+  live row, `DiskSession::label`'s uuid prefix for a stub. Claude Code 2.1.2x
+  writes no `ai-title` record and writes `last-prompt` a while into the
+  session, which is why the opening-prompt step exists — without it a young
+  session reads as a bare uuid.
 - **A resume continues on the session's own model**, not the CLI default:
   `App::resume_model` reads the model Claude Code recorded for the session's
   last main-chain assistant message (`DiskSession::model`, filled by the

src/app.rs

@@ -383,6 +383,19 @@ impl App {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Claude Code's own name for a session (its `/resume` picker title), from
+    /// the scanner's read of the transcript — see `sessions::read_meta`. It
+    /// covers a *live* session too: Claude Code writes its JSONL continuously,
+    /// so a running row and its later disk stub read the same. `None` until the
+    /// file names it, which is the gap `ui::live_title` fills.
+    pub fn cc_title(&self, key: &str) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.disk_sessions
+            .iter()
+            .find(|d| d.uuid == key)?
+            .title
+            .as_deref()
+    }
+
     /// Indices into `disk_sessions` that should appear as stubs: everything
     /// not already present as a live session (a live session *is* on disk —
     /// Claude Code writes the JSONL continuously — so dedupe by uuid).
@@ -644,7 +657,7 @@ impl App {
             0,
             crate::sessions::DiskSession {
                 uuid: new_uuid.clone(),
-                label: title,
+                title: Some(title),
                 model,
                 // A materialized branch carries no subagent transcripts (the
                 // `Agent` tool_results in it hold the reports the model saw).
@@ -2925,7 +2938,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn stub(uuid: &str, model: &str) -> crate::sessions::DiskSession {
         crate::sessions::DiskSession {
             uuid: uuid.into(),
-            label: uuid.into(),
+            title: Some(uuid.into()),
             model: model.into(),
             agents: 0,
             modified: std::time::SystemTime::now(),
@@ -4900,6 +4913,24 @@ eligible.\",\"type\":\"AccessDenied.Unpurchased\"}</status>\n\
         stub(uuid, "")
     }
 
+    /// A live session takes Claude Code's own name for it: its transcript is
+    /// on disk while it runs, so the running row and its later stub read the
+    /// same. An unnamed or unknown session reports nothing, and the row falls
+    /// back to `ui::live_title`.
+    #[test]
+    fn live_sessions_read_claude_codes_own_title() {
+        let mut a = App::new();
+        a.sessions.push(Session::new("live".into(), "m".into()));
+        let mut named = stub("live", "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929");
+        named.title = Some("fix the parser".into());
+        let mut unnamed = stub("fresh", "");
+        unnamed.title = None;
+        a.set_disk_sessions(vec![named, unnamed]);
+        assert_eq!(a.cc_title("live"), Some("fix the parser"));
+        assert_eq!(a.cc_title("fresh"), None);
+        assert_eq!(a.cc_title("nosuch"), None);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn disk_stubs_dedupe_against_live_sessions() {
         let mut a = App::new();

src/sessions.rs

@@ -27,8 +27,11 @@ pub struct DiskSession {
     /// always writes the parent's `Agent` records too, so the parent's mtime
     /// moves whenever this can change).
     pub agents: usize,
-    /// Best human-readable label: ai-title > last-prompt text > uuid prefix.
-    pub label: String,
+    /// Claude Code's own name for the session — its `/resume` picker title,
+    /// read from the transcript (see `read_meta`). `None` when the file holds
+    /// none of the records it comes from. A *live* session's file is on disk
+    /// too, so `App::cc_title` gives a running session the same name.
+    pub title: Option<String>,
     /// API model id of the session's last main-chain assistant message
     /// (empty when the file has none yet). `App::resume_model` turns it into
     /// the `--model` argument a resume spawns with.
@@ -36,6 +39,15 @@ pub struct DiskSession {
     pub modified: SystemTime,
 }
 
+impl DiskSession {
+    /// Row label: Claude Code's own title, else the uuid prefix.
+    pub fn label(&self) -> String {
+        self.title
+            .clone()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| self.uuid.chars().take(8).collect())
+    }
+}
+
 /// Background scanner: keeps `App::disk_sessions` in sync with the project
 /// directory so the UI never does disk I/O for the session list. Polls ~1/s;
 /// labels and models are re-read only for files whose mtime changed, so the
@@ -43,9 +55,9 @@ pub struct DiskSession {
 /// only taken when the list actually changed.
 pub fn spawn_scanner(app: SharedApp) {
     std::thread::spawn(move || {
-        // uuid → (mtime when read, label, model, subagent count): skip
+        // uuid → (mtime when read, title, model, subagent count): skip
         // re-parsing unchanged files (one pass yields all — see `read_meta`).
-        let mut meta: HashMap<String, (SystemTime, String, String, usize)> = HashMap::new();
+        let mut meta: HashMap<String, (SystemTime, Option<String>, String, usize)> = HashMap::new();
         let mut last: Vec<DiskSession> = Vec::new();
         loop {
             let list = scan(&mut meta).unwrap_or_default();
@@ -60,7 +72,7 @@ pub fn spawn_scanner(app: SharedApp) {
 
 /// One scan of the project directory, newest first.
 fn scan(
-    meta: &mut HashMap<String, (SystemTime, String, String, usize)>,
+    meta: &mut HashMap<String, (SystemTime, Option<String>, String, usize)>,
 ) -> Result<Vec<DiskSession>, String> {
     let dir = project_dir()?;
     let rd = std::fs::read_dir(&dir)
@@ -74,21 +86,21 @@ fn scan(
             }
             let uuid = path.file_stem()?.to_str()?.to_string();
             let modified = e.metadata().ok()?.modified().ok()?;
-            let (label, model, agents) = match meta.get(&uuid) {
-                Some((m, l, md, n)) if *m == modified => (l.clone(), md.clone(), *n),
+            let (title, model, agents) = match meta.get(&uuid) {
+                Some((m, t, md, n)) if *m == modified => (t.clone(), md.clone(), *n),
                 _ => {
-                    let (label, model) = read_meta(&path, &uuid);
+                    let (title, model) = read_meta(&path);
                     let agents = scan_agents(&uuid).len();
                     meta.insert(
                         uuid.clone(),
-                        (modified, label.clone(), model.clone(), agents),
+                        (modified, title.clone(), model.clone(), agents),
                     );
-                    (label, model, agents)
+                    (title, model, agents)
                 }
             };
             Some(DiskSession {
                 uuid,
-                label,
+                title,
                 model,
                 agents,
                 modified,
@@ -1008,28 +1020,51 @@ fn encode_cwd(path: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 /// Read a session's list metadata from its JSONL file in one pass:
-/// `(label, model)`.
+/// `(title, model)`.
 ///
-/// The label prefers `ai-title`; it falls back to the last non-empty
-/// `last-prompt` text, then the uuid prefix. The model is the API model id of
+/// The title is Claude Code's *own* name for the session: the same records, in
+/// the same order, that its `/resume` picker reads, so a row here reads as it
+/// does there — `custom-title` (a manual rename) > `ai-title` (Claude's
+/// generated title) > `last-prompt` (the newest prompt, which is what an
+/// untitled session shows) > a legacy compaction `summary` > the first real
+/// user prompt in the file. `None` when the file names the session in none of
+/// those ways (nothing recorded yet, or unreadable); the caller decides what
+/// to show instead (`DiskSession::label`, `ui::live_title`).
+///
+/// The newest rename wins, but the *first* `ai-title` does: a branch file we
+/// materialized carries our own `⑂ …` title at the top and Claude Code may
+/// append its own later. The opening prompt goes through `prompt_text`, so a
+/// slash command or an injected block yields nothing rather than machinery.
+///
+/// The model is the API model id of
 /// the last *main-chain* assistant message — what Claude Code itself recorded
 /// for the newest turn, so a resume can continue on it. Subagent records
 /// (`isSidechain`) carry their own model and are skipped, as are the
 /// `<synthetic>` ids Claude Code writes for API-error records.
-fn read_meta(path: &std::path::Path, uuid: &str) -> (String, String) {
-    let fallback = || uuid.chars().take(8).collect::<String>();
+fn read_meta(path: &std::path::Path) -> (Option<String>, String) {
     let Ok(f) = std::fs::File::open(path) else {
-        return (fallback(), String::new());
+        return (None, String::new());
     };
     let reader = std::io::BufReader::new(f);
+    let mut custom_title: Option<String> = None;
     let mut ai_title: Option<String> = None;
     let mut last_prompt: Option<String> = None;
+    let mut summary: Option<String> = None;
+    let mut first_prompt: Option<String> = None;
     let mut model = String::new();
     for line in reader.lines().map_while(Result::ok) {
         let Ok(v) = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&line) else {
             continue;
         };
         match v.get("type").and_then(|t| t.as_str()) {
+            // A `/title` rename: the newest one is the current name.
+            Some("custom-title") => {
+                if let Some(t) = v.get("customTitle").and_then(|t| t.as_str())
+                    && !t.is_empty()
+                {
+                    custom_title = Some(one_line(t));
+                }
+            }
             // First title wins (the scan no longer stops there — it still
             // needs the model): a branch file we materialized carries our own
             // `⑂ …` title first, and Claude Code may append its own later.
@@ -1047,6 +1082,22 @@ fn read_meta(path: &std::path::Path, uuid: &str) -> (String, String) {
                     last_prompt = Some(one_line(p));
                 }
             }
+            // A pre-2.x compaction summary (`summaryHint` in the picker) —
+            // still the only name a session compacted back then carries.
+            Some("summary") => {
+                if let Some(t) = v.get("summary").and_then(|t| t.as_str())
+                    && !t.is_empty()
+                {
+                    summary = Some(one_line(t));
+                }
+            }
+            // Last resort: the prompt the session opened with. Young sessions
+            // land here — Claude Code writes `last-prompt` a while later.
+            Some("user") if first_prompt.is_none() => {
+                if let Some(p) = prompt_text(&v) {
+                    first_prompt = Some(one_line(&p));
+                }
+            }
             Some("assistant") => {
                 if v.get("isSidechain").and_then(Value::as_bool) != Some(true)
                     && let Some(m) = v.pointer("/message/model").and_then(Value::as_str)
@@ -1058,8 +1109,13 @@ fn read_meta(path: &std::path::Path, uuid: &str) -> (String, String) {
             _ => {}
         }
     }
-    let label = ai_title.or(last_prompt).unwrap_or_else(fallback);
-    (label, model)
+    let title = custom_title
+        .or(ai_title)
+        .or(last_prompt)
+        .or(summary)
+        .or(first_prompt)
+        .filter(|t| !t.is_empty());
+    (title, model)
 }
 
 /// First line only, control characters dropped — labels go into a one-row
@@ -1582,28 +1638,62 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(encode_cwd("/a/b1_c2.d3"), "-a-b1-c2-d3");
     }
 
+    /// The title follows Claude Code's own precedence, so a row here reads as
+    /// it does in `/resume`.
     #[test]
-    fn label_prefers_ai_title() {
+    fn title_prefers_a_rename_then_the_ai_title() {
+        // A rename beats a generated title, and the newest rename wins.
+        let p = write_jsonl(&[
+            r#"{"type":"last-prompt","lastPrompt":"fix the bug"}"#,
+            r#"{"type":"ai-title","aiTitle":"bug fixing session"}"#,
+            r#"{"type":"custom-title","customTitle":"my name"}"#,
+            r#"{"type":"custom-title","customTitle":"renamed again"}"#,
+        ]);
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).0.as_deref(), Some("renamed again"));
+        std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
+
+        // The *first* ai-title wins: our own `⑂ …` title sits at the top of a
+        // branch file, and Claude Code may append its own later.
         let p = write_jsonl(&[
             r#"{"type":"last-prompt","lastPrompt":"fix the bug"}"#,
             r#"{"type":"ai-title","aiTitle":"bug fixing session"}"#,
             r#"{"type":"ai-title","aiTitle":"retitled later"}"#,
         ]);
-        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p, "deadbeef-0000").0, "bug fixing session");
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).0.as_deref(), Some("bug fixing session"));
         std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn label_falls_back_to_last_prompt_then_uuid() {
+    fn title_falls_back_to_last_prompt_then_the_opening_prompt() {
+        // Untitled: the newest prompt, first line only — what the picker shows.
         let p = write_jsonl(&[
             r#"{"type":"last-prompt","lastPrompt":"first"}"#,
             r#"{"type":"last-prompt","lastPrompt":"latest\nmultiline"}"#,
         ]);
-        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p, "deadbeef-0000").0, "latest");
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).0.as_deref(), Some("latest"));
         std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
 
+        // No `last-prompt` record yet (a young session): the opening prompt.
+        let p = write_jsonl(&[
+            r#"{"type":"user","uuid":"u1","message":{"role":"user","content":"opening prompt"}}"#,
+            r#"{"type":"user","uuid":"u2","message":{"role":"user","content":"later prompt"}}"#,
+        ]);
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).0.as_deref(), Some("opening prompt"));
+        std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unnamed_session_reads_as_its_uuid_prefix() {
         let p = write_jsonl(&[r#"{"type":"user"}"#, "not json"]);
-        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p, "deadbeef-0000").0, "deadbeef");
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).0, None);
+        let d = DiskSession {
+            uuid: "deadbeef-0000".into(),
+            title: None,
+            model: String::new(),
+            agents: 0,
+            modified: SystemTime::now(),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(d.label(), "deadbeef");
         std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
     }
 
@@ -1617,12 +1707,12 @@ mod tests {
             // An API-error record carries a placeholder id, not a model.
             r#"{"type":"assistant","message":{"model":"<synthetic>","content":[]}}"#,
         ]);
-        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p, "deadbeef-0000").1, "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929");
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).1, "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929");
         std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
 
         // A session with no assistant record yet reports no model.
         let p = write_jsonl(&[r#"{"type":"user","message":{"role":"user","content":"hi"}}"#]);
-        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p, "deadbeef-0000").1, "");
+        assert_eq!(read_meta(&p).1, "");
         std::fs::remove_file(p).ok();
     }
 

src/ui.rs

@@ -1411,7 +1411,14 @@ fn draw(
                 } else {
                     white
                 };
-                (s.key.clone(), lead, live_title(s), meta, title_style)
+                // Claude Code's own name for the session, exactly as its
+                // `/resume` picker reads it; the feed's first prompt only
+                // covers the gap before the transcript names it.
+                let title: String = a
+                    .cc_title(&s.key)
+                    .map(str::to_string)
+                    .unwrap_or_else(|| live_title(s));
+                (s.key.clone(), lead, title, meta, title_style)
             } else {
                 let d = &a.disk_sessions[stubs[m - live_n]];
                 let id: String = d.uuid.chars().take(8).collect();
@@ -1424,7 +1431,7 @@ fn draw(
                 (
                     d.uuid.clone(),
                     "· ".dark_gray(),
-                    d.label.clone(),
+                    d.label(),
                     meta,
                     white,
                 )
@@ -2351,9 +2358,11 @@ fn short_model(m: &str) -> String {
     m.strip_prefix("claude-").unwrap_or(m).to_string()
 }
 
-/// A human title for a live session: the first line of its first user prompt
-/// (what the session is *about*), falling back to the model / a placeholder
-/// before any prompt has streamed in.
+/// Fallback title for a live session, used only while `App::cc_title` has
+/// nothing: Claude Code names every session in its transcript, but it writes
+/// that file a moment after the first request reaches us. Until then the feed
+/// answers — the first line of the first user prompt (what the session is
+/// *about*), then the model / a placeholder before any prompt streamed in.
 fn live_title(s: &Session) -> String {
     if let Some(e) = s.entries.iter().find(|e| matches!(e.kind, Kind::User)) {
         let first = e.content.lines().map(str::trim).find(|l| !l.is_empty());