Desktop fails to show sessions when project is opened through a symlink path

[luolong47]

Description

opencode Desktop appears to mishandle projects opened through symlink paths.

When a project is opened from a symlinked path, Desktop keeps the symlink path in its project list/state, but sessions are stored in the backend database under the resolved real path. Because the UI filters sessions by the currently selected project identity/path, existing sessions are not shown even though they exist in the database.

Environment

• opencode Desktop version: 1.15.13
• OS: Linux
• Install type: Desktop app
• Relevant data locations:
  • Session DB: ~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db
  • Desktop state: ~/.config/ai.opencode.desktop/opencode.global.dat

Setup

Assume this directory layout:

/workspace -> /home/user/workspace
/workspace/project
/home/user/workspace/project

/workspace is a symlink to /home/user/workspace.

The project is opened in opencode Desktop using the symlink path:

/workspace/project

What happens

Desktop stores the project entry using the symlink path:

{
  "worktree": "/workspace/project"
}

However, the backend SQLite database stores the project and sessions using the resolved real path:

project.worktree = /home/user/workspace/project
session.directory = /home/user/workspace/project

The session records exist and are valid, but they are associated with the project whose worktree is the resolved path, not the symlink path currently selected in Desktop.

As a result, when selecting /workspace/project in Desktop, the session list is empty and the UI shows:

No sessions found
Start a new session for this project

Expected behavior

Sessions created for a project should be visible regardless of whether the project was opened through a symlink path or its resolved real path.

At minimum, Desktop and the backend should use the same normalized project identity for:

• project list entries
• project.worktree
• session.project_id
• session.directory
• last opened/restored session state

Actual behavior

The same physical project can be split into two identities:

/workspace/project
/home/user/workspace/project

Desktop selects one path, while the session database stores another, causing the UI to filter out existing sessions.

Evidence

The database contained a project row like:

project.id = <hash>
project.worktree = /home/user/workspace/project

And sessions like:

session.project_id = <hash>
session.directory = /home/user/workspace/project
session.title = Quick check-in

But Desktop state contained the project list entry:

{
  "worktree": "/workspace/project",
  "expanded": true
}

After manually making the database project/session paths consistent with the Desktop symlink path, the sessions became visible again.

Likely root cause

There seems to be inconsistent path normalization between Desktop and the backend/sidecar:

• Desktop project state preserves the user-opened symlink path.
• Backend project/session creation resolves the path to the real path.
• Session lookup/filtering then relies on direct path/project identity matching without accounting for symlink equivalence.

Suggested fix

Use a single stable project identity across Desktop and backend.

Possible approaches:

1. Always canonicalize paths everywhere before storing or matching.
2. Preserve the user-facing display path, but store and match by canonical path.
3. Store both:
   • displayPath: path opened by the user, used for UI
   • canonicalPath: resolved real path, used for identity/matching
4. Avoid direct string path matching in Desktop session filtering when a stable project_id or canonical path can be used.

Workaround

A manual workaround is to make the Desktop project state and SQLite project/session records use the same path form, either all symlink paths or all resolved real paths.

This is fragile because future session creation may again normalize paths differently.

[github-actions]

This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

• Desktop beta stops showing sessions until UI state files are cleared #28477: Desktop stops showing sessions until UI state files are cleared — explicitly mentions opening the workspace through a symlink vs its realpath as a possible trigger, same opencode.global.dat state file involved
• Instance.containsPath() compares mixed canonical/non-canonical paths #16660: Instance.containsPath() compares mixed canonical/non-canonical paths — related inconsistency between symlink paths and resolved paths in the backend
• Sessions missing from sidebar on Windows due to path separator mismatch #23864: Sessions missing from sidebar on Windows due to path separator mismatch — same root cause pattern (path identity mismatch causing sessions to be filtered out)

[github-actions]

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