[Bug]: Grouped project picker hides other machines' checkouts when creating a new thread #36489

Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find an exact duplicate.
• I included enough detail to reproduce or investigate the problem.

Area

apps/web

Steps to reproduce

1. Use the macOS desktop app with a local Mac checkout and a linked Linux VPS checkout of the same GitHub repository. Both checkouts are already registered as projects and both environments are reachable.
2. Keep repository grouping enabled so the repository appears as one project and can be filtered as one project.
3. Open an existing thread that belongs to the VPS checkout.
4. Click New thread (the square-and-pencil button).
5. In the project picker, find the grouped repository and try to start a thread in its existing Mac checkout.

Expected behavior

The new-thread flow should let me select either existing checkout/device without changing project grouping or first navigating to a thread on that device.

Keeping repository grouping is useful: I want one project/filter spanning machines, while explicitly choosing where a new thread runs.

Actual behavior

The project picker offers only one row for the repository, showing the current VPS environment and its Linux path. The already-registered local Mac checkout is not individually selectable in that picker. There is no visible device/checkout choice at this step.

In this interaction, the successful route was to cancel, open an existing thread belonging to the Mac checkout, and click New thread again. The same grouped repository then points to Local and the Mac path, and creation succeeds on the intended device. The user confirmed this workaround worked.

This makes creation depend on which old thread is open, and makes an available local checkout look missing. Selecting the wrong device also leads to confusing provider setup symptoms, such as Claude not being found on the VPS even though it is available on the Mac.

Impact

Minor bug or occasional failure

Creating on a different device becomes difficult to discover. It is especially unclear how to proceed when there is no existing thread on the desired device to navigate through.

Version or commit

The inspected Linux server/frontend bundle is T3 Code 0.1.9. The exact macOS desktop build was not independently checked.

Environment

macOS desktop app, local Mac mini, linked Linux VPS, same GitHub repository registered on both devices. Both environments were confirmed reachable.

Workaround

Open an existing thread in the target device's checkout, then click New thread and select the grouped project. Confirmed working for the local Mac checkout.

Keep separate exposes separate project entries, but also splits the project Filter, so it sacrifices the grouping that is wanted.

Suggested resolution

Keep repository grouping and filtering intact, while offering an explicit machine/checkout choice in the new-thread project picker (for example an expandable grouped row or a secondary checkout selector). Show the destination device and path before creation.

Related

#36296 discusses which folder checkout is chosen within a grouped repository. This report concerns choosing between already-registered checkouts on different machines and the dependence on the currently open thread.

Supporting evidence

The user's screenshots show the grouped repository row labeled Current with the VPS environment/path, while unrelated Mac projects are labeled Local. Backend project listings confirm that the same repository is also registered on the Mac. After navigating to a Mac thread, the user confirmed new-thread creation succeeded on the Mac. Screenshots are omitted here because the originals contain unrelated private activity.

The inspected 0.1.9 frontend also resolves the project picker's preferred project reference from the active thread's environment/project before considering a fallback. This is consistent with the observed context-dependent destination.