feat: improve session resume reliability and persist user settings

- Filter empty sessions from history API (check for conversation content)
- Add --resume fallback to new session if resume fails (prevents dead panes)
- Pass resumeSessionId through respawnPane for dead pane recovery
- Persist respawn presets and runMode to server settings (cross-device sync)
- Fix mobile touch handling for Recent Sessions dropdown (DOM API + touch CSS)

src/mux-interface.ts

@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ export interface RespawnPaneOptions {
   claudeMode?: ClaudeMode;
   allowedTools?: string;
   openCodeConfig?: OpenCodeConfig;
+  /** Resume a previous Claude conversation when respawning */
+  resumeSessionId?: string;
 }
 
 /**

src/session.ts

@@ -912,6 +912,7 @@ export class Session extends EventEmitter {
             claudeMode: this._claudeMode,
             allowedTools: this._allowedTools,
             openCodeConfig: this._openCodeConfig,
+            resumeSessionId: this._resumeSessionId,
           });
           if (!newPid) {
             console.error('[Session] Failed to respawn pane, will create new session');

src/tmux-manager.ts

@@ -206,11 +206,18 @@ function buildSpawnCommand(options: {
     // Validate model to prevent command injection
     const safeModel = options.model && /^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$/.test(options.model) ? options.model : undefined;
     const modelFlag = safeModel ? ` --model ${safeModel}` : '';
-    // Use --resume to restore a previous conversation, otherwise --session-id for new sessions
+    // Use --resume to restore a previous conversation, otherwise --session-id for new sessions.
+    // Wrap --resume in a fallback: if it exits non-zero (session not found, corrupt, etc.),
+    // fall back to a new session with --session-id so the pane doesn't die.
     const safeResumeId =
       options.resumeSessionId && /^[a-f0-9-]+$/.test(options.resumeSessionId) ? options.resumeSessionId : undefined;
-    const sessionFlag = safeResumeId ? ` --resume "${safeResumeId}"` : ` --session-id "${options.sessionId}"`;
-    return `claude${buildClaudePermissionFlags(options.claudeMode, options.allowedTools)}${sessionFlag}${modelFlag}`;
+    const permFlags = buildClaudePermissionFlags(options.claudeMode, options.allowedTools);
+    if (safeResumeId) {
+      const resumeCmd = `claude${permFlags} --resume "${safeResumeId}"${modelFlag}`;
+      const fallbackCmd = `claude${permFlags} --session-id "${options.sessionId}"${modelFlag}`;
+      return `${resumeCmd} || ${fallbackCmd}`;
+    }
+    return `claude${permFlags} --session-id "${options.sessionId}"${modelFlag}`;
   }
   if (options.mode === 'opencode') {
     return buildOpenCodeCommand(options.openCodeConfig);
@@ -622,7 +629,17 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
    * preserving the session and its scrollback buffer.
    */
   async respawnPane(options: RespawnPaneOptions): Promise<number | null> {
-    const { sessionId, workingDir, mode, niceConfig, model, claudeMode, allowedTools, openCodeConfig } = options;
+    const {
+      sessionId,
+      workingDir,
+      mode,
+      niceConfig,
+      model,
+      claudeMode,
+      allowedTools,
+      openCodeConfig,
+      resumeSessionId,
+    } = options;
     const session = this.sessions.get(sessionId);
     if (!session) return null;
     const muxName = session.muxName;
@@ -658,6 +675,7 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
       claudeMode,
       allowedTools,
       openCodeConfig,
+      resumeSessionId,
     });
     const config = niceConfig || DEFAULT_NICE_CONFIG;
     const cmd = wrapWithNice(baseCmd, config);

src/web/public/app.js

@@ -1217,6 +1217,8 @@ class CodemanApp {
   }
 
   async resumeHistorySession(sessionId, workingDir) {
+    // Close the run mode menu if open
+    document.getElementById('runModeMenu')?.classList.remove('active');
     try {
       this.terminal.clear();
       this.terminal.writeln(`\x1b[1;32m Resuming conversation ${sessionId.slice(0, 8)}...\x1b[0m`);
@@ -4242,6 +4244,8 @@ class CodemanApp {
     this._runMode = mode;
     try { localStorage.setItem('codeman_runMode', mode); } catch {}
     this._applyRunMode();
+    // Sync to server for cross-device persistence
+    this._apiPut('/api/settings', { runMode: mode }).catch(() => {});
     // Close menu
     document.getElementById('runModeMenu')?.classList.remove('active');
   }
@@ -4255,8 +4259,9 @@ class CodemanApp {
     menu.querySelectorAll('.run-mode-option').forEach(btn => {
       btn.classList.toggle('selected', btn.dataset.mode === this.runMode);
     });
-    // Close on click outside
+    // Load history sessions when menu opens
     if (menu.classList.contains('active')) {
+      this._loadRunModeHistory();
       const close = (ev) => {
         if (!menu.contains(ev.target)) {
           menu.classList.remove('active');
@@ -4267,6 +4272,68 @@ class CodemanApp {
     }
   }
 
+  async _loadRunModeHistory() {
+    const container = document.getElementById('runModeHistory');
+    if (!container) return;
+    container.innerHTML = '<div class="run-mode-hist-empty">Loading...</div>';
+
+    try {
+      const res = await fetch('/api/history/sessions');
+      const data = await res.json();
+      const sessions = data.sessions || [];
+
+      if (sessions.length === 0) {
+        container.innerHTML = '<div class="run-mode-hist-empty">No history</div>';
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Deduplicate: up to 2 per dir, max 10 total
+      const byDir = new Map();
+      for (const s of sessions) {
+        if (!byDir.has(s.workingDir)) byDir.set(s.workingDir, []);
+        byDir.get(s.workingDir).push(s);
+      }
+      const items = [];
+      for (const [, group] of byDir) {
+        items.push(...group.slice(0, 2));
+      }
+      items.sort((a, b) => new Date(b.lastModified) - new Date(a.lastModified));
+      const display = items.slice(0, 10);
+
+      // Build items using DOM API for reliable mobile touch handling
+      container.replaceChildren();
+      for (const s of display) {
+        const date = new Date(s.lastModified);
+        const timeStr = date.toLocaleDateString('en', { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })
+          + ' ' + date.toLocaleTimeString('en', { hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit', hour12: false });
+        const shortDir = s.workingDir.replace(/^\/home\/[^/]+\//, '~/');
+
+        const btn = document.createElement('button');
+        btn.className = 'run-mode-option';
+        btn.title = s.workingDir;
+        btn.dataset.sessionId = s.sessionId;
+        btn.dataset.workingDir = s.workingDir;
+
+        const dirSpan = document.createElement('span');
+        dirSpan.className = 'hist-dir';
+        dirSpan.textContent = shortDir;
+
+        const metaSpan = document.createElement('span');
+        metaSpan.className = 'hist-meta';
+        metaSpan.textContent = timeStr;
+
+        btn.append(dirSpan, metaSpan);
+        btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
+          e.stopPropagation();
+          this.resumeHistorySession(s.sessionId, s.workingDir);
+        });
+        container.appendChild(btn);
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      container.innerHTML = '<div class="run-mode-hist-empty">Failed to load</div>';
+    }
+  }
+
   _applyRunMode() {
     const mode = this.runMode;
     const runBtn = document.getElementById('runBtn');
@@ -5593,6 +5660,9 @@ class CodemanApp {
   // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 
   loadRespawnPresets() {
+    // Custom presets: prefer server-synced cache, fall back to legacy localStorage key
+    const serverCache = this._serverRespawnPresets;
+    if (serverCache) return [...BUILTIN_RESPAWN_PRESETS, ...serverCache];
     const saved = localStorage.getItem('codeman-respawn-presets');
     const custom = saved ? JSON.parse(saved) : [];
     return [...BUILTIN_RESPAWN_PRESETS, ...custom];
@@ -5601,7 +5671,11 @@ class CodemanApp {
   saveRespawnPresets(presets) {
     // Only save custom presets (not built-in)
     const custom = presets.filter(p => !p.builtIn);
+    // Update local cache + legacy localStorage
+    this._serverRespawnPresets = custom;
     localStorage.setItem('codeman-respawn-presets', JSON.stringify(custom));
+    // Persist to server (cross-device sync)
+    this._apiPut('/api/settings', { respawnPresets: custom }).catch(() => {});
   }
 
   renderPresetDropdown() {
@@ -7760,7 +7834,7 @@ class CodemanApp {
       const settings = settingsPromise ? await settingsPromise : await fetch('/api/settings').then(r => r.ok ? r.json() : null);
       if (settings) {
         // Extract notification prefs before merging app settings
-        const { notificationPreferences, voiceSettings, ...appSettings } = settings;
+        const { notificationPreferences, voiceSettings, respawnPresets, runMode, ...appSettings } = settings;
         // Filter out display settings — these are device-specific (mobile vs desktop)
         // and should not be synced from the server to avoid overriding mobile defaults.
         // NOTE: Feature toggles (subagentTrackingEnabled, imageWatcherEnabled, ralphTrackerEnabled)
@@ -7805,6 +7879,30 @@ class CodemanApp {
           }
         }
 
+        // Sync respawn presets from server (server is source of truth)
+        if (respawnPresets && Array.isArray(respawnPresets)) {
+          this._serverRespawnPresets = respawnPresets;
+          // Also update localStorage for offline access
+          localStorage.setItem('codeman-respawn-presets', JSON.stringify(respawnPresets));
+        } else {
+          // Migration: push existing localStorage presets to server
+          const localPresets = localStorage.getItem('codeman-respawn-presets');
+          if (localPresets) {
+            const parsed = JSON.parse(localPresets);
+            if (parsed.length > 0) {
+              this._serverRespawnPresets = parsed;
+              this._apiPut('/api/settings', { respawnPresets: parsed }).catch(() => {});
+            }
+          }
+        }
+
+        // Sync run mode from server
+        if (runMode) {
+          this.runMode = runMode;
+          try { localStorage.setItem('codeman_runMode', runMode); } catch {}
+          this._applyRunMode();
+        }
+
         return merged;
       }
     } catch (err) {

src/web/public/index.html

@@ -330,6 +330,9 @@
               <button class="run-mode-option" data-mode="opencode" onclick="app.setRunMode('opencode')">
                 <span class="run-mode-dot opencode"></span>OpenCode
               </button>
+              <div class="run-mode-sep"></div>
+              <div class="run-mode-header">Recent Sessions</div>
+              <div class="run-mode-history" id="runModeHistory"></div>
             </div>
           </div>
           <div class="tab-count-group" title="Instance count">

src/web/public/mobile.css

@@ -626,12 +626,20 @@ html.mobile-init .file-browser-panel {
     bottom: 100%;
     left: 0;
     margin-bottom: 6px;
-    min-width: 140px;
+    min-width: 160px;
+    max-width: 80vw;
   }
 
   .run-mode-option {
     padding: 10px 12px;
     font-size: 0.8rem;
+    cursor: pointer;
+    -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
+  }
+
+  .run-mode-history {
+    -webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;
+    touch-action: manipulation;
   }
 
   /* Stop button - visible on mobile, icon-only */

src/web/public/styles.css

@@ -2080,7 +2080,7 @@ body {
   text-align: center;
 }
 
-/* History sessions panel */
+/* History sessions panel (welcome overlay) */
 .history-sessions {
   margin-top: 1.5rem;
   width: 100%;
@@ -2324,7 +2324,8 @@ body {
   border-radius: 6px;
   padding: 4px;
   z-index: 1000;
-  min-width: 150px;
+  min-width: 180px;
+  max-width: 300px;
   box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
 }
 .run-mode-menu.active {
@@ -2361,6 +2362,40 @@ body {
 .run-mode-dot.claude { background: #3b82f6; }
 .run-mode-dot.opencode { background: #10b981; }
 
+.run-mode-sep {
+  height: 1px;
+  background: var(--border);
+  margin: 4px 0;
+}
+.run-mode-header {
+  padding: 4px 10px 2px;
+  font-size: 0.72em;
+  color: var(--text-dim);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+  font-weight: 600;
+}
+.run-mode-history {
+  max-height: 200px;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+}
+.run-mode-option .hist-dir {
+  flex: 1;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.run-mode-option .hist-meta {
+  font-size: 0.85em;
+  color: var(--text-muted);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.run-mode-hist-empty {
+  padding: 6px 10px;
+  color: var(--text-muted);
+  font-style: italic;
+}
+
 /* Shell Button - Special styling */
 .btn-toolbar.btn-shell {
   background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1a2e1a 0%, #234023 100%);

src/web/routes/session-routes.ts

@@ -965,8 +965,32 @@ export function registerSessionRoutes(
           const filePath = join(projPath, entry);
           const fileStat = await fs.stat(filePath).catch(() => null);
           if (!fileStat) continue;
-          // Skip tiny files (empty or just init)
-          if (fileStat.size < 500) continue;
+          // Skip files too small to contain real conversation (metadata-only sessions
+          // like file-history-snapshot entries are typically < 4KB)
+          if (fileStat.size < 4000) continue;
+
+          // Quick content check: verify actual conversation data exists.
+          // Sessions with only file-history-snapshot or hook_progress entries have
+          // no "user"/"assistant" messages and will fail claude --resume.
+          // Files > 50KB are almost certainly real conversations (skip the read).
+          if (fileStat.size < 50000) {
+            try {
+              const fd = await fs.open(filePath, 'r');
+              const buf = Buffer.alloc(16384);
+              const { bytesRead } = await fd.read(buf, 0, 16384, 0);
+              await fd.close();
+              const head = buf.toString('utf8', 0, bytesRead);
+              if (
+                !head.includes('"type":"user"') &&
+                !head.includes('"type":"assistant"') &&
+                !head.includes('"type":"summary"')
+              ) {
+                continue; // No conversation content — skip
+              }
+            } catch {
+              continue;
+            }
+          }
 
           results.push({
             sessionId,

src/web/schemas.ts

@@ -321,6 +321,30 @@ export const SettingsUpdateSchema = z
         insertMode: z.string().max(20).optional(),
       })
       .optional(),
+    // Run mode preference (cross-device sync)
+    runMode: z.string().max(20).optional(),
+    // Custom respawn presets (cross-device sync, replaces localStorage-only storage)
+    respawnPresets: z
+      .array(
+        z.object({
+          id: z.string().max(100),
+          name: z.string().max(100),
+          config: z.object({
+            idleTimeoutMs: z.number().optional(),
+            updatePrompt: z.string().max(5000).optional(),
+            interStepDelayMs: z.number().optional(),
+            sendClear: z.boolean().optional(),
+            sendInit: z.boolean().optional(),
+            kickstartPrompt: z.string().max(5000).optional(),
+            autoAcceptPrompts: z.boolean().optional(),
+          }),
+          durationMinutes: z.number().optional(),
+          builtIn: z.boolean().optional(),
+          createdAt: z.number().optional(),
+        })
+      )
+      .max(20)
+      .optional(),
   })
   .strict();
 

test/routes/session-routes.test.ts

@@ -75,11 +75,7 @@ describe('session-routes', () => {
       expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
       const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
       expect(body.success).toBe(true);
-      expect(harness.ctx.cleanupSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-        harness.ctx._sessionId,
-        true,
-        'user_delete',
-      );
+      expect(harness.ctx.cleanupSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith(harness.ctx._sessionId, true, 'user_delete');
     });
 
     it('returns error for unknown session', async () => {
@@ -123,10 +119,7 @@ describe('session-routes', () => {
       expect(body.success).toBe(true);
       expect(body.name).toBe('new-name');
       expect(harness.ctx.persistSessionState).toHaveBeenCalled();
-      expect(harness.ctx.broadcast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-        'session:updated',
-        expect.anything(),
-      );
+      expect(harness.ctx.broadcast).toHaveBeenCalledWith('session:updated', expect.anything());
     });
 
     it('returns error for unknown session', async () => {
@@ -462,4 +455,109 @@ describe('session-routes', () => {
       expect(body.success).toBe(true);
     });
   });
+
+  // ========== GET /api/history/sessions ==========
+
+  describe('GET /api/history/sessions', () => {
+    it('returns sessions array', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'GET',
+        url: '/api/history/sessions',
+      });
+      expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      expect(body).toHaveProperty('sessions');
+      expect(Array.isArray(body.sessions)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('sessions have required fields', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'GET',
+        url: '/api/history/sessions',
+      });
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      for (const session of body.sessions) {
+        expect(session).toHaveProperty('sessionId');
+        expect(session).toHaveProperty('workingDir');
+        expect(session).toHaveProperty('projectKey');
+        expect(session).toHaveProperty('sizeBytes');
+        expect(session).toHaveProperty('lastModified');
+        // sessionId must be a valid UUID
+        expect(session.sessionId).toMatch(/^[a-f0-9]{8}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{12}$/);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('sessions are sorted by lastModified descending', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'GET',
+        url: '/api/history/sessions',
+      });
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      const dates = body.sessions.map((s: { lastModified: string }) => new Date(s.lastModified).getTime());
+      for (let i = 1; i < dates.length; i++) {
+        expect(dates[i - 1]).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(dates[i]);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('returns at most 50 sessions', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'GET',
+        url: '/api/history/sessions',
+      });
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      expect(body.sessions.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(50);
+    });
+  });
+
+  // ========== POST /api/sessions (with resumeSessionId) ==========
+
+  describe('POST /api/sessions with resumeSessionId', () => {
+    it('creates session with valid resumeSessionId', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'POST',
+        url: '/api/sessions',
+        payload: {
+          name: 'resume-test',
+          mode: 'claude',
+          workingDir: process.env.HOME || '/tmp',
+          resumeSessionId: 'a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890',
+        },
+      });
+      expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      expect(body.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(body.session).toBeDefined();
+    });
+
+    it('rejects invalid resumeSessionId format', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'POST',
+        url: '/api/sessions',
+        payload: {
+          name: 'bad-resume',
+          mode: 'claude',
+          workingDir: process.env.HOME || '/tmp',
+          resumeSessionId: 'not-a-uuid',
+        },
+      });
+      expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      expect(body.success).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('creates session without resumeSessionId (optional field)', async () => {
+      const res = await harness.app.inject({
+        method: 'POST',
+        url: '/api/sessions',
+        payload: {
+          name: 'no-resume',
+          mode: 'claude',
+          workingDir: process.env.HOME || '/tmp',
+        },
+      });
+      expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+      const body = JSON.parse(res.body);
+      expect(body.success).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
 });