fix: DM partners query uses SQL over all messages, not just inbox

The previous implementation only scanned inbox (pending messages),
so historical conversations with read/done messages were invisible.
New GetDMPartners() does a direct SQL query with window functions
to find all unique DM partners with most recent message preview
and unread count. Historical conversations now always show.

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

internal/api/messages_handler.go

@@ -581,6 +581,64 @@ func (h *MessagesHandler) DMMessages(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	})
 }
 
+// DMPartners returns a list of agents the user has DM conversations with,
+// ordered by most recent message. Queries ALL messages (not just inbox)
+// so historical conversations always appear.
+func (h *MessagesHandler) DMPartners(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	ownerID, ok := OwnerIDFromContext(r.Context())
+	if !ok {
+		writeJSON(w, http.StatusUnauthorized, errorBody("unauthorized", "Authentication required"))
+		return
+	}
+
+	ownedAgents, err := h.agentService.ListAgents(r.Context(), ownerID)
+	if err != nil {
+		writeJSON(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, errorBody("server_error", "Failed to list agents"))
+		return
+	}
+
+	if len(ownedAgents) == 0 {
+		writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]any{"partners": []any{}})
+		return
+	}
+
+	agentNames := make([]string, len(ownedAgents))
+	for i, a := range ownedAgents {
+		agentNames[i] = a.Name
+	}
+
+	partners, err := h.msgService.GetDMPartners(r.Context(), agentNames)
+	if err != nil {
+		h.logger.Error("get dm partners failed", "error", err)
+		writeJSON(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, errorBody("server_error", "Failed to get DM partners"))
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Resolve display names
+	type partnerWithDisplay struct {
+		Name        string `json:"name"`
+		DisplayName string `json:"display_name"`
+		LastMessage string `json:"last_message"`
+		LastTime    string `json:"last_time"`
+		Unread      int    `json:"unread"`
+	}
+	result := make([]partnerWithDisplay, len(partners))
+	for i, p := range partners {
+		result[i] = partnerWithDisplay{
+			Name:        p.Name,
+			DisplayName: p.Name,
+			LastMessage: p.LastMessage,
+			LastTime:    p.LastTime,
+			Unread:      p.Unread,
+		}
+		if a, err := h.agentService.GetAgent(r.Context(), p.Name); err == nil {
+			result[i].DisplayName = a.DisplayName
+		}
+	}
+
+	writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]any{"partners": result})
+}
+
 func (h *MessagesHandler) isAgentOwnedBy(r *http.Request, agentName string, ownerID int64) bool {
 	if agentName == "" {
 		return false

internal/api/router.go

@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ func NewRouterWithConfig(cfg RouterConfig) chi.Router {
 			r.Delete("/api/agents/{name}", agentsHandler.DeleteAgent)
 			r.Post("/api/agents/{name}/revoke-key", agentsHandler.RevokeKey)
 			r.Get("/api/agents/{name}/messages", messagesHandler.DMMessages)
+			r.Get("/api/dm/partners", messagesHandler.DMPartners)
 
 			// Notifications
 			r.Get("/api/notifications/unread", notificationsHandler.UnreadCounts)

internal/messaging/service.go

@@ -531,6 +531,11 @@ func (s *MessagingService) GetDMMessages(ctx context.Context, ownedAgents []stri
 	return messages, nil
 }
 
+// GetDMPartners returns all DM conversation partners for the owned agents.
+func (s *MessagingService) GetDMPartners(ctx context.Context, ownedAgents []string) ([]DMPartner, error) {
+	return s.store.GetDMPartners(ctx, ownedAgents)
+}
+
 // GetDMUnreadCounts returns unread DM counts grouped by peer agent.
 func (s *MessagingService) GetDMUnreadCounts(ctx context.Context, agentName string) ([]DMUnreadCount, error) {
 	return s.store.GetDMUnreadCounts(ctx, agentName)

internal/messaging/store.go

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ type MessageStore interface {
 	GetChannelMessages(ctx context.Context, channelID int64, limit, offset int) ([]*Message, error)
 	CountChannelMessages(ctx context.Context, channelID int64) (int, error)
 	GetDMMessages(ctx context.Context, agents []string, peerAgent string, limit int) ([]*Message, error)
+	GetDMPartners(ctx context.Context, agents []string) ([]DMPartner, error)
 	AgentExists(ctx context.Context, agentName string) (bool, error)
 	CountPendingDMs(ctx context.Context, agentName string) (int64, error)
 	GetPendingDMs(ctx context.Context, agentName string, limit int) ([]*Message, error)
@@ -687,6 +688,94 @@ func (s *SQLiteMessageStore) GetDMMessages(ctx context.Context, agents []string,
 	return scanMessages(rows)
 }
 
+// GetDMPartners returns all unique DM conversation partners for the owned agents,
+// with the most recent message preview and unread count. This queries ALL messages
+// (not just inbox) to show historical conversations.
+func (s *SQLiteMessageStore) GetDMPartners(ctx context.Context, agents []string) ([]DMPartner, error) {
+	if len(agents) == 0 {
+		return []DMPartner{}, nil
+	}
+
+	placeholders := make([]string, len(agents))
+	args := make([]any, 0, len(agents)*2)
+	for i, a := range agents {
+		placeholders[i] = "?"
+		args = append(args, a)
+	}
+	inClause := strings.Join(placeholders, ",")
+	// Duplicate args for the second IN clause
+	for _, a := range agents {
+		args = append(args, a)
+	}
+
+	// Find all DM partners with latest message and unread count
+	query := fmt.Sprintf(`
+		SELECT
+			peer,
+			last_body,
+			last_time,
+			COALESCE(SUM(is_unread), 0) as unread
+		FROM (
+			SELECT
+				CASE
+					WHEN from_agent IN (%s) THEN to_agent
+					ELSE from_agent
+				END as peer,
+				body as last_body,
+				created_at as last_time,
+				CASE
+					WHEN to_agent IN (%s) AND status IN ('pending', 'processing') THEN 1
+					ELSE 0
+				END as is_unread,
+				ROW_NUMBER() OVER (
+					PARTITION BY CASE WHEN from_agent IN (%s) THEN to_agent ELSE from_agent END
+					ORDER BY created_at DESC
+				) as rn
+			FROM messages
+			WHERE channel_id IS NULL
+			  AND (from_agent IN (%s) OR to_agent IN (%s))
+		) sub
+		WHERE rn = 1 AND peer != '' AND peer NOT IN (%s)
+		GROUP BY peer
+		ORDER BY last_time DESC
+		LIMIT 50`,
+		inClause, inClause, inClause, inClause, inClause, inClause,
+	)
+
+	// Need 6 copies of the args for the 6 IN clauses
+	fullArgs := make([]any, 0, len(agents)*6)
+	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
+		for _, a := range agents {
+			fullArgs = append(fullArgs, a)
+		}
+	}
+
+	rows, err := s.db.QueryContext(ctx, query, fullArgs...)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("get dm partners: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	var partners []DMPartner
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var p DMPartner
+		var body sql.NullString
+		if err := rows.Scan(&p.Name, &body, &p.LastTime, &p.Unread); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if body.Valid && len(body.String) > 80 {
+			p.LastMessage = body.String[:80] + "..."
+		} else if body.Valid {
+			p.LastMessage = body.String
+		}
+		partners = append(partners, p)
+	}
+	if partners == nil {
+		partners = []DMPartner{}
+	}
+	return partners, rows.Err()
+}
+
 func (s *SQLiteMessageStore) CountPendingDMs(ctx context.Context, agentName string) (int64, error) {
 	var count int64
 	err := s.db.QueryRowContext(ctx,

internal/messaging/types.go

@@ -101,3 +101,11 @@ type DMUnreadCount struct {
 	UnreadCount   int    `json:"unread_count"`
 	LastMessageID int64  `json:"last_message_id"`
 }
+
+// DMPartner represents a DM conversation partner with summary info.
+type DMPartner struct {
+	Name        string `json:"name"`
+	LastMessage string `json:"last_message"`
+	LastTime    string `json:"last_time"`
+	Unread      int    `json:"unread"`
+}

internal/reactor/reactor.go

@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ func (r *Reactor) Dispatch(ctx context.Context, event dispatcher.MessageEvent) e
 
 // evaluateTrigger runs the decision chain for a single agent.
 func (r *Reactor) evaluateTrigger(ctx context.Context, agentName string, event dispatcher.MessageEvent) error {
+	// 0. Ignore system messages — stalemate worker notifications, retention warnings,
+	// and other automated DMs should NOT trigger reactive runs. They're notifications
+	// meant for the human owner, not actionable work for agents.
+	if event.FromAgent == "system" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// 1. Get agent config
 	agent, err := r.agentStore.GetAgentByName(ctx, agentName)
 	if err != nil {

internal/web/dist/index.html

@@ -11,30 +11,30 @@
 		<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
 		<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
 		<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=DM+Sans:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Instrument+Sans:wght@400;500;600;700&family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;500&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
-		<link href="/_app/immutable/entry/start.C53XvHet.js" rel="modulepreload">
-		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/BYAQw6Ic.js" rel="modulepreload">
+		<link href="/_app/immutable/entry/start.DkfAG9pH.js" rel="modulepreload">
+		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/Ll39S8uO.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/BjgrqnN-.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/BK7DUW2U.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/CslSvznw.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/C_dJMdcr.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/Du3f5uIc.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		<link href="/_app/immutable/chunks/B3RSY5nb.js" rel="modulepreload">
-		<link href="/_app/immutable/entry/app.1r_Gkim3.js" rel="modulepreload">
+		<link href="/_app/immutable/entry/app.koRx5eH6.js" rel="modulepreload">
 		
 	</head>
 	<body data-sveltekit-preload-data="hover">
 		<div style="display: contents">
 			<script>
 				{
-					__sveltekit_1vc73p1 = {
+					__sveltekit_v7zte8 = {
 						base: ""
 					};
 
 					const element = document.currentScript.parentElement;
 
 					Promise.all([
-						import("/_app/immutable/entry/start.C53XvHet.js"),
-						import("/_app/immutable/entry/app.1r_Gkim3.js")
+						import("/_app/immutable/entry/start.DkfAG9pH.js"),
+						import("/_app/immutable/entry/app.koRx5eH6.js")
 					]).then(([kit, app]) => {
 						kit.start(app, element);
 					});

web/src/lib/api/client.ts

@@ -83,6 +83,11 @@ export const conversations = {
 	get: (id: number) => request<{ conversation: any; messages: any[] }>('GET', `/api/conversations/${id}`)
 };
 
+// DM Partners
+export const dmPartners = {
+	list: () => request<{ partners: any[] }>('GET', '/api/dm/partners')
+};
+
 // Agents
 export const agents = {
 	list: () => request<{ agents: any[] }>('GET', '/api/agents'),

web/src/lib/components/Sidebar.svelte

@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@
 	import { goto } from '$app/navigation';
 	import { user, logout } from '$lib/stores/auth';
 	import { notifications } from '$lib/stores/notifications';
-	import { channels as channelsApi, agents as agentsApi, deadLetters as deadLettersApi } from '$lib/api/client';
+	import { channels as channelsApi, agents as agentsApi, deadLetters as deadLettersApi, dmPartners as dmPartnersApi } from '$lib/api/client';
 
 	let { open = false, onclose = () => {} }: { open?: boolean; onclose?: () => void } = $props();
 
 	let channelList = $state<any[]>([]);
 	let agentList = $state<any[]>([]);
+	let dmPartnerList = $state<any[]>([]);
 	let deadLetterCount = $state(0);
 
 	let channelsExpanded = $state(true);
@@ -25,14 +26,16 @@
 
 	async function loadSidebarData() {
 		try {
-			const [chRes, agRes, dlRes] = await Promise.all([
+			const [chRes, agRes, dlRes, dmRes] = await Promise.all([
 				channelsApi.list(),
 				agentsApi.list(),
-				deadLettersApi.count().catch(() => ({ count: 0 }))
+				deadLettersApi.count().catch(() => ({ count: 0 })),
+				dmPartnersApi.list().catch(() => ({ partners: [] }))
 			]);
 			channelList = chRes.channels ?? [];
 			agentList = agRes.agents ?? [];
 			deadLetterCount = dlRes.count ?? 0;
+			dmPartnerList = dmRes.partners ?? [];
 		} catch {
 			// handled
 		}
@@ -55,15 +58,8 @@
 		return count > 99 ? '99+' : String(count);
 	}
 
-	// Filter DM list: only show human agents + AI agents with unread DMs.
-	// This hides agent-to-agent internal conversations from the sidebar.
-	let dmAgentList = $derived(
-		agentList.filter(agent => {
-			if (agent.type !== 'ai') return true;
-			const unread = $notifications.dms.get(agent.name) ?? 0;
-			return unread > 0;
-		})
-	);
+	// DM partners list is loaded from the API — shows agents you have
+	// actual conversations with, ordered by most recent message.
 
 	const adminLinks = [
 		{ href: '/agents', label: 'Agents' },
@@ -219,30 +215,23 @@
 			</button>
 			{#if dmsExpanded}
 				<div class="mt-0.5">
-					{#if dmAgentList.length === 0}
-						<p class="px-3 py-1 text-xs text-text-secondary italic">No agents</p>
+					{#if dmPartnerList.length === 0}
+						<p class="px-3 py-1 text-xs text-text-secondary italic">No conversations</p>
 					{:else}
-						{#each dmAgentList as agent}
-							{@const dmUnread = $notifications.dms.get(agent.name) ?? 0}
+						{#each dmPartnerList as partner}
 							<a
-								href="/dm/{agent.name}"
-								class="sidebar-item {isActive('/dm/' + agent.name) ? 'sidebar-item-active' : ''}"
+								href="/dm/{partner.name}"
+								class="sidebar-item {isActive('/dm/' + partner.name) ? 'sidebar-item-active' : ''}"
 								onclick={handleNavClick}
 							>
 								<span class="relative flex-shrink-0">
 									<span class="w-5 h-5 rounded-full bg-bg-tertiary flex items-center justify-center text-[10px] font-bold text-text-secondary">
-										{(agent.display_name || agent.name).charAt(0).toUpperCase()}
+										{(partner.display_name || partner.name).charAt(0).toUpperCase()}
 									</span>
-									<span
-										class="absolute -bottom-0.5 -right-0.5 w-2 h-2 rounded-full border border-bg-secondary {agent.status === 'active' ? 'bg-accent-green' : 'bg-text-secondary'}"
-									></span>
 								</span>
-								<span class="truncate {dmUnread > 0 ? 'font-bold text-text-primary' : ''}">{agent.display_name || agent.name}</span>
-								<span class="text-[9px] text-text-secondary flex-shrink-0">(you)</span>
-								{#if dmUnread > 0}
-									<span class="ml-auto text-[10px] font-bold text-white bg-accent-red px-1.5 py-0.5 rounded-full min-w-[18px] text-center flex-shrink-0">{badgeText(dmUnread)}</span>
-								{:else if agent.type === 'ai'}
-									<span class="ml-auto text-[9px] font-mono text-accent-purple bg-accent-purple/10 px-1 rounded flex-shrink-0">AI</span>
+								<span class="truncate {partner.unread > 0 ? 'font-bold text-text-primary' : ''}">{partner.display_name || partner.name}</span>
+								{#if partner.unread > 0}
+									<span class="ml-auto text-[10px] font-bold text-white bg-accent-red px-1.5 py-0.5 rounded-full min-w-[18px] text-center flex-shrink-0">{badgeText(partner.unread)}</span>
 								{/if}
 							</a>
 						{/each}