From 7acad444ed1abf1ae4a792a666cb2e6558ed73cc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jinjing <6427696+AmethystLiang@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2026 22:35:09 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Re-pin entry to deferred tab results that rank higher

Track whether selection auto-follows the top-ranked result or was
manually positioned. Re-pin entry to tabs when they rank higher,
but preserve manual selection.
---
 .../TabBarCreateEntry.tab-results.test.tsx    | 25 ++++++++++++++++++-
 .../components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tsx  | 11 ++++++++
 2 files changed, 35 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tab-results.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tab-results.test.tsx
index 6ab3f625f2d..b793566182d 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tab-results.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tab-results.test.tsx
@@ -233,7 +233,28 @@ describe('TabBarCreateEntry tab results', () => {
     expect(rows[3]).toContain('Open file')
   })
 
-  it('keeps Enter on the row the user saw when a tab row arrives a render later', () => {
+  it('re-pins Enter to a deferred tab row that ranks above the auto-selected file', () => {
+    entryOptionsMock.options = [newFileOption]
+    tabSearchMock.resultsByQuery['add tab'] = [terminalResult()]
+    tabSearchMock.hold = ''
+    const onOpenEntry = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+    const onDidOpenEntry = vi.fn()
+    renderEntry({ onDidOpenEntry, onOpenEntry })
+
+    setQuery('add tab')
+    expect(rowTexts()).toHaveLength(1)
+
+    tabSearchMock.hold = null
+    renderEntry({ onDidOpenEntry, onOpenEntry })
+    expect(rowTexts()[0]).toContain('Switch to tab')
+    submitForm()
+
+    expect(activationMocks.workspace).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(onDidOpenEntry).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(onOpenEntry).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a manually chosen row when a tab row arrives a render later', () => {
     entryOptionsMock.options = [newFileOption]
     tabSearchMock.resultsByQuery['add tab'] = [terminalResult()]
     tabSearchMock.hold = ''
@@ -242,6 +263,8 @@ describe('TabBarCreateEntry tab results', () => {
 
     setQuery('add tab')
     expect(rowTexts()).toHaveLength(1)
+    // Arrow on the only row marks selection as user-owned, not auto-default.
+    pressKey(queryInput(), 'ArrowDown')
 
     tabSearchMock.hold = null
     renderEntry({ onOpenEntry })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tsx
index 750924bf4fb..bab26355034 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBarCreateEntry.tsx
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ export default function TabBarCreateEntry({
   const [switchError, setSwitchError] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [selectedOptionId, setSelectedOptionId] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [selectedOptionQuery, setSelectedOptionQuery] = useState(query)
+  // True while selection still tracks ranking (no arrow/click yet). Deferred tab
+  // rows can prepend a better match; re-pin only while this stays true.
+  const [selectionIsAutoDefault, setSelectionIsAutoDefault] = useState(true)
   const [lastMenuOpen, setLastMenuOpen] = useState(menuOpen)
   const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null)
   const imeEnter = useImeEnterGestureOwnership()
@@ -171,6 +174,7 @@ export default function TabBarCreateEntry({
       setError(null)
       setSwitchError(null)
       setSelectedOptionId(null)
+      setSelectionIsAutoDefault(true)
     }
   }
 
@@ -198,10 +202,16 @@ export default function TabBarCreateEntry({
   if (selectedOptionQuery !== query) {
     setSelectedOptionQuery(query)
     setSelectedOptionId(topOptionId)
+    setSelectionIsAutoDefault(true)
   } else if (selectedOptionId === null && topOptionId !== null) {
     // Why pin the top row by id: the tab search defers the query, so tab rows
     // arrive a render later and would otherwise slide under an index-kept highlight.
     setSelectedOptionId(topOptionId)
+    setSelectionIsAutoDefault(true)
+  } else if (selectionIsAutoDefault && topOptionId !== null && selectedOptionId !== topOptionId) {
+    // Files paint before deferred tab search; follow the new top while the user
+    // has not moved selection themselves.
+    setSelectedOptionId(topOptionId)
   }
   const selectedOptionIndex = selectedOptionId
     ? activeOptions.findIndex((option) => getActiveOptionId(option) === selectedOptionId)
@@ -294,6 +304,7 @@ export default function TabBarCreateEntry({
             const delta = event.key === 'ArrowDown' ? 1 : -1
             const nextIndex =
               (activeSelectedIndex + delta + activeOptions.length) % activeOptions.length
+            setSelectionIsAutoDefault(false)
             setSelectedOptionId(getActiveOptionId(activeOptions[nextIndex]))
             return
           }