- Backend: save session JSON with metadata fields before messages array
so load_metadata_only() reads only ~1KB without parsing the full session
- Backend: add GET /api/session?messages=0 for metadata-only responses
(~1KB vs ~400KB), enabling instant sidebar switching
- Backend: add POST /api/admin/reload to hot-reload models without restart
- Backend: gzip compress JSON API responses (>1KB) for 70-80% bandwidth reduction
- Frontend: show Loading indicator immediately on session switch, replacing
old DOM before API call to prevent stale content flash
- Frontend: clear S.messages before API call so _ensureMessagesLoaded
always fetches fresh data for the target session
- Frontend: wrap both Phase 1 (messages=0) and Phase 2 (_ensureMessagesLoaded)
in try/catch to prevent permanently stuck loading state on network/server errors
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