Bug: Sidebar becomes invisible after relaunch but remains clickable

Version

Alma v0.0.822

Environment

• OS: Windows

• App type: Electron desktop app

• Install path: D:\Program Files\Alma

Problem

After a fresh install or after clearing app data, the sidebar is visible on the first launch.

However, after closing and reopening Alma, the sidebar disappears visually. The task/thread list is no longer visible, but clicking in the original sidebar area still works: the hidden thread/task items can still be selected.

So the sidebar is not removed from the DOM and is not collapsed. It is only invisible.

Reproduction Steps

1. Install Alma or clear Alma user data.

2. Launch Alma.

3. Confirm the sidebar is visible.

4. Close Alma.

5. Launch Alma again.

6. The sidebar becomes invisible.

7. Click where thread/task items should be; they are still clickable.

Actual Behavior

The sidebar container remains mounted and interactive, but is rendered with opacity 0.

Runtime DOM inspection shows:

className: absolute left-0 top-0 h-screen z-10 transition-all duration-500 ease-in-out opacity-0
opacity: 0
pointer-events: auto
width: 256
height: 752

The sidebar content text is still present in the DOM.

Expected Behavior

The sidebar should be visible after relaunch, or if it is intentionally hidden, it should not continue receiving pointer events.

Suspected Cause

This appears to be caused by the initial reveal animation state.

In the renderer bundle:

• PersistentSidebar uses sidebarVisible ? "opacity-100" : "opacity-0".

• RevealProvider initializes sidebarVisible as false.

• After onboarding is dismissed, AppContent calls startReveal(true).

On cold launch after onboarding has already been dismissed, the reveal state sometimes does not advance to sidebarVisible: true, leaving the sidebar stuck at opacity-0.

This does not look like the sidebar data, width, or collapsed state is broken. It looks like a renderer reveal-state race during startup.

Suggested Fix

For users who have already completed onboarding, avoid relying on the delayed reveal animation for the persistent sidebar.

For example:

if (dismissed && !needsPermissionsStep) { markHasLaunchedBefore() setIsMainVisible(true) skipReveal() }

Or initialize the reveal state as already visible for returning users.

Also, as a defensive fix, invisible sidebar state should disable hit testing:

sidebarVisible ? "opacity-100" : "opacity-0 pointer-events-none"

This would prevent the confusing state where the sidebar is invisible but still clickable.

Workaround

Manually changing the sidebar container from opacity-0 to opacity-100 in DevTools makes it visible again for the current session, but the issue can return after relaunch.