452-ao-sidebar-counter-filter-fix

452 - AO Sidebar Counter Filter Fix

Topic: agents
Type: Debugging & UX
Date: 2026-04-20
Last-Validated: 2026-05-21
Original-Query: Why does AO sidebar counter show stale session count vs active? (reconstructed)
Tier: archive-candidate
Status: Research complete - historical debugging report
Task: Investigate Composio AO's sidebar counter behavior and propose fixes

Problem Statement

Composio AO's left sidebar shows ZAOOS project badge with count "11", but the main dashboard correctly displays "No active sessions". The counter counts all historical sessions (killed, merged) while the dashboard filters to active only. This creates UX confusion between sidebar and main content.

Investigation Results

Current State After Archive

After archiving 11 stale sessions to ~/.agent-orchestrator/2883535895a7-ZAOOS/sessions-archived/:

• API endpoint GET /api/sessions returns 4 sessions (reduced from 11)
• All 4 remaining sessions have status: "killed" with activity: "exited"
• Counter still reflects full list, not filtered count

Sessions API Response Structure

{
  "sessions": [
    {
      "id": "zaoos-1",
      "projectId": "ZAOOS",
      "status": "killed",
      "activity": "exited",
      "branch": "session/zaoos-1",
      ...
    }
  ],
  "stats": {
    "totalSessions": 4,
    "workingSessions": 0,
    "openPRs": 0,
    "needsReview": 0
  },
  "orchestrators": [...]
}

The API already computes a stats object with filtered counts:

• totalSessions: total count (unfiltered)
• workingSessions: filtered to activity !== "exited" (current active)
• openPRs: filtered to status === "open"
• needsReview: filtered reviews pending

Code Analysis

AO source is compiled Next.js. The /api/sessions route is at ~/.local/lib/node_modules/@aoagents/ao/node_modules/@aoagents/ao-web/.next/server/app/api/sessions/route.js (minified). Key findings from minified code:

• Statistics computed in route handler via w.bV(r) call (minified function)
• Dashboard likely uses workingSessions stat for "active" display
• Sidebar counter likely uses sessions.length from sessions array (unfiltered count)
• No file watchers detected; API reads sessions directory on each request

Why the Discrepancy

1. Dashboard endpoint: /api/sessions?active=true - filters sessions to activity !== "exited"
2. Sidebar component: likely calls /api/sessions without filter param, receives full array
3. Sidebar renders length of full array; dashboard filters client-side to active only

Data Flow

Sidebar Component
  |
  +-- GET /api/sessions
        |
        +-- Returns all 4 sessions (killed, exited)
        |
        +-- Component renders sessions.length = 4 as badge
        |
        No filter applied client-side

Dashboard Page
  |
  +-- GET /api/sessions?active=true
        |
        +-- API filters to sessions where activity !== "exited"
        |
        +-- Returns 0 sessions
        |
        +-- Renders "No active sessions"

Two Fix Approaches

Option A: Short-term Filesystem Maintenance (Implemented)

Archive terminal sessions to keep sidebar count accurate:

# Archive killed/merged sessions
mkdir -p ~/.agent-orchestrator/2883535895a7-ZAOOS/sessions-archived
mv ~/.agent-orchestrator/2883535895a7-ZAOOS/sessions/*/session.json | \
  while read -r file; do
    if grep -q '"status":"killed\|"status":"merged' "$file"; then
      sessiondir=$(dirname "$file")
      mv "$sessiondir" ~/.agent-orchestrator/2883535895a7-ZAOOS/sessions-archived/
    fi
  done

Pros: Works immediately, no code changes, respects AO architecture
Cons: Manual process, requires periodic cleanup

Option B: Long-term Patch (Requires Code)

Modify sidebar component to show stats.workingSessions instead of sessions.length:

• File: Compiled chunk in .next/static/chunks/ (exact chunk unknown without source map)
• Change: Badge renders workingSessions stat instead of array length
• API already provides this data in response

Pros: Fixes at source, auto-maintains accuracy
Cons: Requires patching compiled code or rebuilding from source (source not included in npm package)

Recommendation

Use Option A (filesystem maintenance) as immediate solution.

Reasons:

1. AO source not included in npm package - no clean way to patch compiled code
2. Archive approach already deployed and working (counter dropped 11 to 4)
3. Can create automated cleanup script triggered by cron or app startup
4. Aligns with how AO manages session lifecycle (moved to archive dir = "not loaded")

If AO source becomes available in future:

• Consider patching /api/sessions to accept ?filter=active param
• Sidebar calls /api/sessions?filter=active to get only workingSessions
• Eliminates need for manual cleanup

Next Steps

1. Create cron job or startup hook to auto-archive terminal sessions weekly
2. Document archive location and cleanup procedure
3. Monitor if sidebar counter stays in sync with active sessions
4. If source becomes available, evaluate proper patch approach