Web UI Session List Empty — Project Auto-Registration Fails on Windows/WSL

[RayySummers]

Description

THIS ISSUE IS CREATED WITH THE HELP OF KIMI AGENT. I am a human and I copied everything related to this issue. Thanks!

Environment

• OpenCode Version: 1.18.1
• OS: Windows 11 + WSL2 (Ubuntu)
• Browser: Chrome, Firefox (including Private Window)
• Installation: npm (npm i -g opencode-ai) and official install script

Problem Summary

When running opencode web (or opencode serve) in any directory, the Web UI sidebar shows "Nothing here yet" / "Create a session to get started" instead of the existing session history. Clicking "New Session" either does nothing or creates an empty placeholder. CLI mode (opencode run) works correctly — it can create and continue sessions without issues.

Root Cause Analysis

After extensive database investigation, the issue is identified as the project table failing to auto-register new working directories, causing a mismatch between session.project_id and project.id.

Database Evidence

Windows (~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db):

SELECT id, worktree, vcs FROM project;
-- Returns only 3 rows:
-- global | / | null
-- 46d9d6de... | E:/Creative/Projects/Wendo/obsidian-vault-wendo/Wendo | git
-- 59e85b02... | E:/Creative/Projects/wikipedia | git

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM session;
-- Returns 195 sessions

SELECT project_id, COUNT(*) FROM session GROUP BY project_id;
-- global: 109 sessions (orphaned)
-- 59e85b02...: 78 sessions
-- 46d9d6de...: 8 sessions

WSL (~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db):

SELECT id, worktree, vcs FROM project;
-- Returns only 2 rows:
-- global | / | null
-- 456ebf0f... | /home/hunde/.openclaw/workspace | git

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM session;
-- Returns 279 sessions

SELECT project_id, COUNT(*) FROM session GROUP BY project_id;
-- global: 273 sessions (97.8% orphaned)
-- 456ebf0f...: 6 sessions

Key Observations

1. Project table is severely underpopulated: Windows has 3 projects for 195 sessions; WSL has 2 projects for 279 sessions.
2. "global" acts as a catch-all: Sessions created in directories without a registered project are assigned project_id = "global", whose worktree is /. This prevents the Web UI from matching the current directory to any project.
3. New directories never get registered: Starting opencode web in a new directory (e.g., C:/Users/hunde or /home/hunde) does not create a new project record, even after git init.
4. WAL mode complicates manual fixes: Directly modifying the SQLite database file is ineffective because OpenCode uses WAL (Write-Ahead Logging), and the running process overwrites changes on checkpoint.

Expected Behavior

• Starting opencode web in a directory should automatically create or update the project table entry for that directory.
• The Web UI should display all sessions whose directory matches the current working directory, regardless of project_id.
• If no project exists, sessions should still be visible under a default/local context.

Actual Behavior

• Web UI sidebar is permanently blank.
• Sessions are created with project_id = "global", which has worktree = "/".
• The Web UI filters sessions by project_id, but the current directory has no matching project.id, so nothing is displayed.

What Has Been Tried

Attempt	Result
Firefox Private Window (no extensions)	❌ Same issue
Chrome (different browser)	❌ Same issue
opencode serve (project directory)	❌ Same issue
git init + git commit in current directory	❌ No new project record created
Manual SQLite INSERT into project table	❌ Overwritten by WAL checkpoint
Clearing ~/.cache/opencode	❌ No effect
Reinstalling OpenCode	❌ No effect

Related Issues (Partial Matches)

• Sessions list is empty on page load in web UI #30166 — Page loading race condition (ruled out: F5/refresh does not fix)
• /undo and /timeline undo does not revert file edits #4704 — opencode web multi-project path filtering (ruled out: single directory also fails)
• [WEB-UI] No new session can be started #12627 — Root workspace cannot create sessions (possibly related)
• Web terminal fails when CSP blocks Ghostty WASM data URL #26001 / Embedded web UI CSP blocks the inline theme preload script #21088 — CSP compatibility (Firefox console warnings, but not the root cause)

Suggested Fix

1. Project auto-registration: Ensure opencode web/serve automatically creates a project record for the current working directory on startup if one does not exist.
2. Graceful fallback: If no project matches the current directory, the Web UI should fall back to displaying sessions by directory prefix match rather than strict project_id equality.
3. Migration for orphaned sessions: Provide a one-time migration to reassign global sessions to their correct project_id based on session.directory matching.

Workaround

Use CLI mode for now:

opencode run "your prompt here"

Plugins

None.

OpenCode version

1.18.1

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a terminal in any directory without an existing OpenCode project (e.g., C:/Users/hunde or /home/hunde on WSL).
2. Run opencode web.
3. Open the browser URL (e.g., http://localhost:4096).
4. Observe the sidebar shows "Nothing here yet" even if historical sessions exist in that directory.
5. Run opencode run "test" — CLI works and creates a session.
6. Refresh the Web UI — the new session still does not appear.

Screenshot and/or share link

No response

Operating System

Windows 11 and WSL2 (Ubuntu)

Terminal

Windows Terminal

[github-actions]

This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

• [BUG] opencode web can not open projects #37005: Same symptom (opencode web can't open/show projects) on Windows 11 WSL2 with v1.18.1
• Windows v1.18.1: legacy DB migrates, CLI sees sessions, but Desktop loses historical projects and sessions #37041: Windows v1.18.1 Desktop loses historical projects and sessions; CLI sees them fine — very similar project_id/global mismatch described
• [Regression] v1.17.13 web UI session list still empty — fixes from #30167/#30314/#30804 not cherry-picked to stable #35340: Web UI session list still empty in v1.17.13 — same blank sidebar symptom with root cause traced to project/directory matching
• Web UI: session list empty on left panel when using web server mode #27837: Web UI session list empty on left panel when using web server mode (Windows 11 + WSL)
• Missing sessions after update #36939: Missing sessions after update to v1.18.x on Windows 11

If your issue is distinct from these (e.g., specific to the project table not being auto-populated on opencode web startup rather than a client-side race), please note that in the issue. Otherwise, adding a +1 or additional repro details to one of the above may help the maintainers prioritize a fix.