bug: Side menu items lose their active state on detail pages #5088

Provide environment information

System:

• OS: macOS 26.6.2
• CPU: (15) arm64 Apple M5 Pro
• Memory: 210.33 MB / 24.00 GB
• Shell: 5.9 - /bin/zsh

Binaries:

• Node: 22.23.2 - /Users/.../.nvm/versions/node/v22.23.2/bin/node
• npm: 10.9.8 - /Users/.../.nvm/versions/node/v22.23.2/bin/npm
• bun: 1.3.10 - /Users/.../.bun/bin/bun
• Deno: 2.9.6 - /opt/homebrew/bin/deno

Web:

Trigger.dev Cloud dashboard (cloud.trigger.dev)

Browser:

<Chrome 156> on macOS 26.6.2 (arm64)

Describe the bug

A side menu item is highlighted as active on its list page, but loses the highlight as soon
as you open a detail page within that section. The side menu then shows no active item,
even though you're still in the same area.

The video shows it with Tasks. The same happens on Runs (opening a run), and on every
other section that has detail pages or overlays with their own URL.

Filtering a list (e.g. Runs filters) does not trigger it; only navigating to a deeper page does.

Expected:

The section's menu item stays active on all of its pages.

Why it matters:

Many dashboard pages share a similar layout (a list, a detail view,
a side panel), so it's easy to lose track of where you are. The side menu's active
indicator is the most visible cue for your current location, and right now it
disappears exactly when you go one level deeper. The breadcrumbs help, but they're
small and easy to overlook, so they don't make up for the missing highlight.

Reproduction repo

N/A, dashboard UI bug. Reproducible in any project with at least one deployed task.

To reproduce

1. Open a project environment in the dashboard
2. Click "Tasks" in the side menu -> "Tasks" is active
3. Click any task in the list -> "Tasks" is no longer active
4. Click "Runs" -> "Runs" is active
5. Click any run -> "Runs" is no longer active

Suggested fix

Root cause:

SideMenuItem marks an item active only on an exact pathname match. A matchPrefix prop (pathname.startsWith(`${to}/`)) already exists, but only the Alerts item uses it.

I have a working fix on a branch, ready to open as a PR once vouched:

• Section items (buildSideMenuSections) default to matchPrefix: true, so every item
  stays active on its sub-pages. Runs, Sessions and Webhooks set it explicitly.
• Dashboards opts out (matchPrefix: false): built-in and custom dashboards under
  <env>/dashboards/... are their own menu items and should own the highlight.
• Tasks links to the environment root, so ${to}/ would match every page. It gets a new
  activePathPrefix prop instead, set to <env>/tasks.
• The match keeps the / boundary, so /concurrency does not activate on
  /concurrency-limits.
• The path logic moves into a pure isSideMenuPathActive() function and stays inside the
  existing check, so yieldActiveToFavorite keeps working (an active favorite still owns
  the highlight).

Verified with unit tests (each one fails when the fix is reverted) and in a local instance:
task, run, model compare, alert and environment variable sub-pages show no active item
on main and the correct one with the fix. Every page I checked has exactly one active item.

Files:

• apps/webapp/app/components/navigation/SideMenuItem.tsx
• apps/webapp/app/components/navigation/SideMenu.tsx
• apps/webapp/app/components/navigation/sideMenuSections.tsx

Additional information

Video:

Navigating Tasks to task detail page. The nav item loses its active state.