# Organizing threads

A thread is one conversation and its continuing work history inside a project.
Use separate threads for separate questions or outcomes so their instructions,
results, and follow-up work remain easy to find. You can run several threads in
parallel; use an isolated worktree when simultaneous tasks should not edit the
same project files.

Pin a thread from its context menu to keep it in the pinned section above your active work.
`mod+shift+p` pins or unpins the thread you have open. Pinned threads are shown independently of
their project, including when you connect to more than one environment.

To require confirmation before unpinning, enable **Settings → General → Unpin confirmation**. The
confirmation applies to the sidebar controls, thread menus, and the `mod+shift+p` shortcut.

Pinned threads still move to **Settled** when they become inactive. They also move when their pull
request merges if **Auto-settle merged threads** is enabled.

Each server owns its automatic settlement settings and checks them even when no web,
desktop, or mobile client is connected. By default, Scient settles threads after seven days without
activity; settling when a pull request merges is available but off by default. An eligible idle
thread also settles when its pull request closes. An open pull request blocks inactivity settlement.
Active work, pending input, and live background work keep the thread active. Scient settles from a
closed or merged pull request only when its timestamp is not older than the user's latest activity.
If that timestamp is not available, the inactivity rule still applies. A manual un-settle also keeps
the thread active.

**Settled** lists threads by when their work finished, newest first. A thread you settle yourself
sorts by the moment you settled it. A thread that settled on its own sorts by its last message or
turn, not by when the server noticed it was inactive.

Change these rules in **Settings > General**. The change is written to every connected environment
whose server supports shared settings. An environment that is offline or needs a server update
keeps its old value and does not appear in mismatch warnings. When a connected environment whose
server supports shared settings holds a different value, **Settings > General** shows a warning
that names it. Choose **Apply to all** to write your current values to the environments named in
the warning. The same applies to the new-thread workspace mode and the source control writing
style.

A settings change affects future settlement and does not reopen a settled thread. Settings saved
by older clients on one device no longer control this behavior.

When you un-settle a thread, it returns to the top of the active list so you can find it right
away. Its timestamps do not change. Other threads keep their positions.

Right-click a pull request link in a thread and choose **Link to thread** to show that pull request
in the sidebar. The thread settles when the linked pull request merges if **Auto-settle merged
threads** is enabled. Right-click the same link and choose **Unlink from thread** to remove it.

Drag a pinned thread to change its position. The order is stored by the selected
environment and appears on other compatible connected clients.

If reordering is unavailable for one environment, update the Scient server
running there using the version guidance shown in the app. Older servers can still pin and unpin
threads, but do not understand synced ordering;
their pinned threads keep the default newest-first order below the ones you have arranged.

## Panel motion

The main sidebar, right panel, and terminal drawer open and close immediately by default. Under
**Settings → Appearance → Motion**, move the **Panel animations** slider above 0 ms to add motion.
The duration can be set up to 400 ms. Clicking the preview replays all three panel transitions; at
0 ms, it snaps between the same open and closed states.

## Environment icons

When you are connected to more than one environment, every thread that lives somewhere other than
the machine you are on wears a small icon for that machine at the end of its row: a server, a cloud
VM, a desktop, a laptop, a Mac mini, or a Mac Studio. In the hosted web app and the mobile app,
where every environment is remote, each row wears its machine so you can tell them apart at a
glance. The same icon appears wherever an environment is named: the thread tooltip, the command
palette, the "Run on" picker, the pull request server filter, the provider settings device tabs,
and the environment lists under **Settings → Connections**. On mobile it appears in the thread
lists, the archive, the new-task environment picker, and the Environments and storage settings.

Servers pick the icon themselves from the hardware they run on. A Mac reports its model, a Linux
machine reports its chassis type and whether it is a virtual machine, and anything without a usable
signal shows a generic server. To override it, open **Settings → Connections** and choose an icon
for that environment; **Automatic** goes back to what the server detected. The choice is stored on
that server, so every device that connects to it sees the same icon.

## Environment artwork

Dev and Nightly environments can identify themselves with artwork at the top of the sidebar and in
the send button. Choose **Artwork**, **Version pill**, or **None** in Settings under environment
identification. Artwork is recolored to match each built-in theme. Custom themes use the **Version
pill** fallback because their colors are not controlled by Scient.

To generate a fresh title from the conversation, open a thread's context menu and choose
**Regenerate title**. While Scient is generating it, the action reads **Regenerating…** and cannot
be selected again. The option is hidden when the connected environment needs a server update.