Session manager plugins: panel, archive and bulk delete

Session manager plugins are not one category but three: panel, archive, and bulk delete. They fill different gaps in the sidebar and carry very different risk; identify the kind before installing.

Three tools, three gaps

The native UI only archives; plugins add browsing, archive views, and bulk cleanup.

Panels are safest. They are read-only or light, useful for finding sessions and previewing content; a mistake rarely loses data.

Archive tools solve "hidden after archiving." Native archive hides sessions; a plugin provides the archive view and unarchive action, changing registry state rather than files.

Bulk delete carries the highest risk. One action can remove many session directories irreversibly; back up and verify the filter before use.

Panel: browsing and preview

A panel turns sessions into a browsable list.

1. After installation, a panel appears in the sidebar or as a page.
2. Filter by project, time, or keyword.
3. Preview a summary to confirm the session.
4. Open or restore it; archive through the archive entry.
5. Clean the list periodically so the panel does not become a second haystack.

The value is findability. It does not change data, only presentation; the worst failure is an invisible panel, not lost sessions.

Preview content may come from cache. Refresh before judging that a session is corrupted.

Archive: bringing hidden sessions back

Archive tools fill the missing entry after native archiving.

1. Open the archive view in the panel.
2. Filter archived sessions by time or project.
3. Choose restore; the session reappears in the normal list.
4. Confirm message completeness; missing content means more than archive.
5. Delete only when no longer needed; do not use archive as cleanup.

Archive is reversible; deletion is not. When a plugin puts both on one screen, read the button; one wrong click may be final.

Archive state lives in the registry. Uninstalling the plugin does not unarchive sessions; restore natively or reinstall the plugin.

Bulk delete: power demands restraint

Bulk delete is both an efficiency tool and a risk tool. Three prerequisites.

1. Back up first: copy the DSH_HOME session directory, or at least the target project.
2. Filter, then preview: inspect the matched list by title and time; never select all blindly.
3. Stop the service: deleting while running leaves half-written logs and inconsistent indexes.
4. Start small: delete one or two, confirm behavior, then expand.
5. Verify after: restart, check the list, and confirm search has no residue.

"Select all" is the most dangerous action. Sessions are nested under projects; deleting one level too high removes an entire project.

Deletion is irreversible. There is no trash bin; only a backup recovers. Do not treat bulk delete as daily cleanup.

Choosing by need

Match the plugin to the gap: find, restore, or clean.

One primary plugin is enough. The three functions often overlap; choose one covering your main need.

Start with a panel. It carries the lowest risk and helps you decide whether archive or deletion is really needed.

Boundary with native archive and file deletion

A plugin is UI; the data stays local, and uninstalling does not undo actions. Archive changes registry state and keeps logs; deletion removes disk directories irreversibly; recovery depends on archive state or a backup, not a plugin trash bin. Archived stays archived, deleted stays deleted; uninstall is not rollback.

Backups are the only reliable recovery. Make a rollback copy before any bulk operation.

Conflicts and data safety

Multiple session manager plugins cause more problems than expected.

1. Duplicate panels: two similar entries consume space and invite misclicks.
2. Inconsistent caches: one shows archived, another still lists it.
3. Competing operations: simultaneous delete or restore can desynchronize indexes and files.
4. Permission stacking: several plugins request file write access, widening the risk surface.

Keep one primary plugin. Disable or uninstall the rest; replace rather than stack.

Check source and permissions. Session plugins read and write the session directory; avoid unknown sources and review update records.

Next steps

Install a panel first, then add archive or deletion by need. For the plugin landscape, read How to choose a session manager plugin. For the archive/delete distinction, read Archive vs delete session. For three-client deletion, read Deleting sessions across desktop, web, and CLI.

Sources: dsh-session-manager plugin page, DeepSeek Harness docs, dsh CLI README