fix(web): keep sidebar stable after settings

[obinnanwachukwu1]

What Changed

• Keep both project and thread-shell projections subscribed while Settings replaces the thread sidebar.
• Ignore the animated list's first-frame setup mutations so remounting the sidebar does not animate rows that already exist.
• Keep normal animations enabled for later additions, removals, and layout changes.

Why

Settings swaps the thread sidebar out of the React tree. The existing retention component only kept projects subscribed, so thread shells could briefly rebuild when the user returned.

There was a second contributor: DndContext installs accessibility nodes just after the list mounts. FormKit interpreted those setup mutations as new content and applied its 225 ms scale/fade animation to every existing thread row. Attaching auto-animate one frame later treats that work as initial rendering without disabling real list animations.

Fixes #7743.

Related: #5930, #6480.

UI Changes

This defect is visible only during the Settings -> Back transition, so short recordings are used instead of still screenshots.

Before

The existing sidebar rows briefly disappear, then scale and fade back in.

sidebar-settings-before.mp4

After

The existing rows remain stable when returning from Settings.

sidebar-settings-after.mp4

Verification

• vp run --filter @t3tools/web typecheck
• vp fmt --check apps/web/src/components/AppSidebarLayout.tsx apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
• Integrated web repro on current main: Settings -> Back briefly emptied and scaled/faded the existing row.
• Integrated web verification after the change: the transition emitted no sidebar Web Animations API entries.
• A post-mount list mutation still emitted the expected FormKit animation, confirming normal list transitions remain enabled.

Checklist

• This PR is small and focused
• I explained what changed and why
• I included clear before/after evidence for this motion change

Built with GPT-5.6 Codex in T3 Code.

Note

Keep sidebar stable after settings by retaining thread projections and deferring auto-animate

• Renames ProjectProjectionRetention to SidebarProjectionRetention and adds useThreadShells() so thread-related projections stay subscribed when the thread sidebar is swapped out (AppSidebarLayout.tsx)
• Defers autoAnimate attachment by one requestAnimationFrame in the Sidebar list, skipping immediate setup mutations and destroying the controller on detach or ref changes (Sidebar.tsx)
• Risk: attachListAutoAnimateRef now relies on requestAnimationFrame and node connectivity checks; if the list node disconnects before the frame fires, auto-animate will not attach

^{Macroscope summarized dafb19e.}

---

Note

Low Risk
UI-only subscription and animation-timing tweaks; no auth, data, or API changes. Worst case is a missed first-frame auto-animate attach if the list unmounts before rAF.

Overview
Stops the thread sidebar from emptying and animating existing rows when returning from Settings.

Keeps thread-shell projections subscribed (alongside projects) while Settings unmounts the sidebar, so lists do not flash empty while the environment snapshot reconnects.

Defers FormKit autoAnimate on the thread list by one frame so DndContext accessibility setup is not treated as new content. Later add/remove/layout animations stay enabled.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit dafb19e. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

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[macroscopeapp]

One finding: the new disable() + one-frame enable() sequence cancels auto-animate's initial coordinate bootstrap, so the first real thread-list change after each sidebar mount replays enter keyframes instead of a FLIP move. Details inline.

^{Posted via Macroscope — UI Consistency}

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved at 1079dab

Macroscope's review found this PR approvable — Straightforward UI stability fix that prevents sidebar flicker when returning from Settings. Changes add a read-only subscription hook (matching existing pattern) and defer animation setup to skip irrelevant mutations. Limited scope, clear intent, no business logic impact.

^{You can add or adjust custom eligibility rules. Learn more.}