fix: preserve cockpit steps across view toggles and show full step info

Backend: stop wiping pending_task_lane when AI response has no new
[ACTIONS]/[QUESTIONS] markers — previous task lane state is still
relevant until replaced by new markers.

Frontend (selectChat): don't eagerly clear task lane before server
response arrives; restore from sessionStorage as fallback when
pending_task_lane is null (covers sessions before backend fix).

StepsPanel: show description and command for all steps instead of
hiding behind hover/active-only visibility. Commands render as
inline code blocks.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

backend/app/services/unified_chat_service.py

@@ -339,14 +339,12 @@ async def send_chat_message(
                 except Exception:
                     logger.exception("Failed to create fork within branch for session %s", session.id)
 
-            # Persist task lane state on session
+            # Persist task lane state on session — only overwrite when new markers present
             if branch_questions_data or branch_actions_data:
                 session.pending_task_lane = {
                     "questions": branch_questions_data or [],
                     "actions": branch_actions_data or [],
                 }
-            else:
-                session.pending_task_lane = None
 
             suggested_flows = extract_suggested_flows(
                 await rag_search(query=message, account_id=account_id, db=db, limit=8)
@@ -472,14 +470,12 @@ async def send_chat_message(
             logger.exception("Failed to create fork for session %s", session_id)
             # Fork failed but chat message still sent — don't break the response
 
-    # Persist task lane state on session
+    # Persist task lane state on session — only overwrite when new markers present
     if questions_data or actions_data:
         session.pending_task_lane = {
             "questions": questions_data or [],
             "actions": actions_data or [],
         }
-    else:
-        session.pending_task_lane = None
 
     suggested_flows = extract_suggested_flows(rag_results)
 

frontend/src/components/assistant/StepsPanel.tsx

@@ -101,15 +101,22 @@ export function StepsPanel({
                   'transition-colors duration-200',
                   isCompleted && 'line-through opacity-70',
                 )}>{action.label}</span>
-                {/* Show description for active step and on hover for others */}
                 {action.description && (
                   <p className={cn(
-                    'text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-0.5 leading-relaxed transition-all duration-200',
+                    'text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-0.5 leading-relaxed',
-                    isActive ? 'opacity-100 max-h-20' : 'opacity-0 max-h-0 group-hover:opacity-70 group-hover:max-h-20 overflow-hidden',
+                    isCompleted && 'opacity-60',
                   )}>
                     {action.description}
                   </p>
                 )}
+                {action.command && (
+                  <code className={cn(
+                    'block text-[11px] font-mono mt-1 px-2 py-1 rounded bg-white/[0.04] border border-white/[0.06] text-muted-foreground break-all',
+                    isCompleted && 'opacity-60',
+                  )}>
+                    {action.command}
+                  </code>
+                )}
               </div>
 
               {/* Active indicator */}

frontend/src/hooks/useAssistantSession.ts

@@ -168,9 +168,7 @@ export function useAssistantSession() {
   const selectChat = useCallback(async (chatId: string) => {
     currentChatRef.current = chatId
     setActiveChatId(chatId)
-    setShowTaskLane(false)
+    // Don't clear task lane yet — wait for server response to decide
-    setActiveQuestions([])
-    setActiveActions([])
     try {
       const detail = await aiSessionsApi.getSession(chatId)
       if (currentChatRef.current !== chatId) return
@@ -188,7 +186,7 @@ export function useAssistantSession() {
         triage_hypothesis: detail.triage_hypothesis ?? null,
         evidence_items: detail.evidence_items ?? null,
       })
-      // Restore task lane from persisted state
+      // Restore task lane from server state
       if (detail.pending_task_lane) {
         const q = detail.pending_task_lane.questions || []
         const a = detail.pending_task_lane.actions || []
@@ -202,10 +200,35 @@ export function useAssistantSession() {
           setActiveQuestions(q)
           setActiveActions(a)
           setShowTaskLane(true)
+          return
         }
       }
+      // Fallback: restore from sessionStorage (covers view toggles before backend fix)
+      try {
+        const saved = sessionStorage.getItem('rf-tasklane-meta')
+        if (saved) {
+          const d = JSON.parse(saved)
+          if (d.chatId === chatId) {
+            const q = d.questions || []
+            const a = d.actions || []
+            if (q.length > 0 || a.length > 0) {
+              setActiveQuestions(q)
+              setActiveActions(a)
+              setShowTaskLane(d.show === true)
+              return
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      } catch { /* ignore */ }
+      // No task lane data from either source — clear
+      setShowTaskLane(false)
+      setActiveQuestions([])
+      setActiveActions([])
     } catch {
       setMessages([])
+      setShowTaskLane(false)
+      setActiveQuestions([])
+      setActiveActions([])
     }
   }, [])