Desktop UI regression: chat history, MCP icon, diff spam, auto-scroll #9886

Summary

Recent Desktop UI/UX changes have made the app harder to use on macOS (tested on MacBook Air, Tahoe 26.1). These regressions appeared in the last 2-3 weeks.

Regressions

1. Chat history hover panel is not scrollable
   • The chat history list now only appears on hover per chat. This is OK in principle, but the list cannot be scrolled, so newer chats are inaccessible.

2. MCP icon removed from top-right

   • The MCP status icon was very useful to quickly verify configured MCPs and errors. It’s gone now, and the only way is typing /mcp, which is a UX step backwards.

3. Diff history pasted at end of every turn

   • The app now inserts the entire diff history for touched files at the end of every assistant turn. This bloats the chat stream and makes navigation painful. The diffs are already available in the right-side collapsible panel, so repeating them in the chat is redundant.

4. Auto-scroll/follow behavior is disruptive
   • While reading a response, the view keeps jumping due to new tokens. Ideally, the view should stay anchored where I’m reading, with an option to jump to the latest output instead of forcibly pulling me away.

Impact

These changes significantly degrade the day-to-day UX and make long sessions difficult to follow. I love the product and hope these regressions can be addressed.