fix(web): preserve unsent user-input answers across thread switches

[ipanasenko]

Problem

A typed-but-unsent answer to a provider's user-input question is lost as soon as you switch to another thread and come back.

Screen.Recording.2026-07-26.at.11.30.20.PM.mov

Cause

The draft answers lived in ChatView component state — pendingUserInputAnswersByRequestId / pendingUserInputQuestionIndexByRequestId. The router creates a new match per $threadId, so a thread switch unmounts ChatView and throws that state away. Nothing was persisted.

Change

• New apps/web/src/pendingUserInputDraftStore.ts: a zustand store persisted to localStorage (t3code:pending-user-input-drafts:v1, same pattern as terminalUiStateStore) holding draft answers and the active question index keyed by requestId. Has a 50-request retention cap so abandoned drafts don't accumulate.
• ChatView reads/writes that store instead of local useState. Answer logic (togglePendingUserInputOptionSelection, setPendingUserInputCustomAnswer) is unchanged — the store just takes an updater.
• The draft is cleared once the answer submits successfully; a failed submit keeps it so the user can retry.

On returning to the thread, ChatComposer's existing hydration effect restores the editor text from activePendingProgress.customAnswer, so typed text, selected options, and multi-question position all come back. Drafts now also survive a reload.

Testing

• tsgo --noEmit on apps/web — clean
• vp lint on the touched files — clean
• vp test run --project unit — 8 new store tests plus existing pendingUserInput, ChatView.logic, AppRoot suites (52 tests) pass

Also verified manually live in the app against a real pending question.

Note

Preserve unsent user-input draft answers across thread switches in ChatView

• Replaces component-local state in ChatViewContent with a new persisted Zustand store (pendingUserInputDraftStore) that survives component unmounts such as thread switches.
• Draft answers and question index are keyed by requestId, so each pending input request retains its own independent state.
• Drafts are cleared from the store on successful respondToUserInput submission and persist to localStorage across sessions.
• The store caps retained drafts at 50 entries, evicting the oldest when exceeded, and safely handles special keys like __proto__.
• Behavioral Change: draft answers now persist to localStorage and survive page reloads, where previously they were lost on any component unmount.

^{Macroscope summarized 510f62d.}

---

Note

Low Risk
Client-side UX/state persistence only; no auth or server contract changes beyond when drafts are cleared after submit.

Overview
Fixes lost in-progress answers when switching threads by moving pending user-input draft state out of ChatView into a new persisted Zustand store (pendingUserInputDraftStore), keyed by requestId in localStorage.

ChatView now reads/writes draft answers and the active question index via store hooks and updaters; submission logic is unchanged. Drafts are cleared only after a successful respond so failed submits can be retried. The store caps retention at 50 requests, normalizes question indexes, and uses safe record updates so odd question ids (e.g. __proto__) serialize correctly.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 510f62d. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

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[cursor]

Cursor Bugbot has reviewed your changes using high effort and found 2 potential issues.

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^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 510f62d. Configure here.}

[cursor]

Split eviction desyncs draft maps

Medium Severity

The evictOldestRequestDrafts function operates independently on answersByRequestId and questionIndexByRequestId. This can cause a requestId to be evicted from one map but not the other when the retention cap is reached, resulting in desynchronized or incomplete draft state for a pending user input request.

 

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 510f62d. Configure here.}

[cursor]

Draft cleared while still pending

Medium Severity

After a successful respondToUserInput command, clearPendingUserInputDraft runs immediately, but derivePendingUserInputs can still list that requestId until a user-input.resolved activity arrives. The pending composer then shows empty answers and selections even though the request is still open—unlike the prior in-memory state, which kept the draft visible until the pending UI went away.

 

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 510f62d. Configure here.}

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Needs human review

This PR introduces new persistence behavior for draft answers and has two unresolved medium-severity review comments identifying potential bugs in the eviction logic and draft clearing timing.

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