diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
index 1dbff145ee..cf1ba11d7b 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ const LoraCompareContent = memo(function LoraCompareContent({
                 modelType="base"
                 pairId={pairId}
                 initialThreadId={baseThreadId}
+                syncActiveThreadId={false}
               >
                 <RegisterCompareHandle name="base" />
                 <Thread hideComposer={true} hideWelcome={true} />
@@ -242,6 +243,7 @@ const LoraCompareContent = memo(function LoraCompareContent({
                 modelType="lora"
                 pairId={pairId}
                 initialThreadId={loraThreadId}
+                syncActiveThreadId={false}
               >
                 <RegisterCompareHandle name="lora" />
                 <Thread hideComposer={true} hideWelcome={true} />
@@ -343,6 +345,7 @@ const GeneralCompareContent = memo(function GeneralCompareContent({
                 modelType="model1"
                 pairId={pairId}
                 initialThreadId={model1ThreadId}
+                syncActiveThreadId={false}
               >
                 <RegisterCompareHandle name="model1" />
                 <Thread hideComposer={true} hideWelcome={true} />
@@ -376,6 +379,7 @@ const GeneralCompareContent = memo(function GeneralCompareContent({
                 modelType="model2"
                 pairId={pairId}
                 initialThreadId={model2ThreadId}
+                syncActiveThreadId={false}
               >
                 <RegisterCompareHandle name="model2" />
                 <Thread hideComposer={true} hideWelcome={true} />
@@ -479,11 +483,19 @@ function TopBarActions({
   );
 }
 
+function getInitialSingleChatView(): ChatView {
+  const id = useChatRuntimeStore.getState().activeThreadId;
+  if (typeof id === "string" && id.length > 0 && !id.startsWith("__LOCALID_")) {
+    return { mode: "single", threadId: id };
+  }
+  return { mode: "single" };
+}
+
 export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
-  const [view, setView] = useState<ChatView>({
-    mode: "single",
-    newThreadNonce: crypto.randomUUID(),
-  });
+  // Do not set newThreadNonce here: each /chat mount would run ThreadNewChatSwitch
+  // and create spurious threads when navigating (e.g. Recipes / Export). New Chat
+  // explicitly sets a nonce in handleNewThread.
+  const [view, setView] = useState<ChatView>(getInitialSingleChatView);
   const [settingsOpen, setSettingsOpen] = useState(false);
   const [modelSelectorOpen, setModelSelectorOpen] = useState(false);
   const [modelSelectorLocked, setModelSelectorLocked] = useState(false);
@@ -587,9 +599,20 @@ export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
     void ejectModel();
   }, [ejectModel]);
   const handleNewThread = useCallback(() => {
+    // Skip if we are already on a fresh unsaved draft with no messages sent.
+    // Once the user sends a message, append() sets activeThreadId in the store,
+    // so we check the store to know whether the current draft has been sent.
+    if (
+      view.mode === "single" &&
+      !view.threadId &&
+      !useChatRuntimeStore.getState().activeThreadId
+    ) {
+      return;
+    }
+
     useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(null);
     setView({ mode: "single", newThreadNonce: crypto.randomUUID() });
-  }, []);
+  }, [view]);
   const handleNewCompare = useCallback(() => {
     setView({ mode: "compare", pairId: crypto.randomUUID() });
     // Clear activeThreadId so compare panes do not inherit the single-chat
@@ -922,7 +945,7 @@ export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
 
           {view.mode === "single" ? (
             <SingleContent
-              key={view.threadId ?? view.newThreadNonce ?? "new"}
+              key={view.threadId ?? "single"}
               threadId={view.threadId}
               newThreadNonce={view.newThreadNonce}
             />
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/runtime-provider.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/runtime-provider.tsx
index 7e6cd8e1dd..024543edb9 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/runtime-provider.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/runtime-provider.tsx
@@ -596,6 +596,15 @@ function ThreadHistoryProvider({
 
       async append({ parentId, message }: ExportedMessageRepositoryItem) {
         const { remoteId } = await aui.threadListItem().initialize();
+        // Keep single-chat runtime state in sync once a new chat is first
+        // persisted. Compare panes intentionally do not write global activeThreadId.
+        const thread = await db.threads.get(remoteId);
+        if (thread?.modelType === "base" && !thread.pairId) {
+          const store = useChatRuntimeStore.getState();
+          if (store.activeThreadId !== remoteId) {
+            store.setActiveThreadId(remoteId);
+          }
+        }
         const content = cloneContent(message.content);
         const attachments =
           message.role === "user" ? cloneAttachments(message.attachments) : [];
@@ -658,7 +667,11 @@ function useRuntimeHook(): ReturnType<typeof useLocalRuntime> {
 
 function ThreadAutoSwitch({
   threadId,
-}: { threadId: string }): ReactElement | null {
+  syncActiveThreadId = true,
+}: {
+  threadId: string;
+  syncActiveThreadId?: boolean;
+}): ReactElement | null {
   const aui = useAui();
   const isLoading = useAuiState(({ threads }) => threads.isLoading);
   const mainThreadId = useAuiState(({ threads }) => threads.mainThreadId);
@@ -669,6 +682,13 @@ function ThreadAutoSwitch({
     }
   }, [aui, isLoading, mainThreadId, threadId]);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!syncActiveThreadId || isLoading || mainThreadId !== threadId) {
+      return;
+    }
+    useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(threadId);
+  }, [isLoading, mainThreadId, syncActiveThreadId, threadId]);
+
   return null;
 }
 
@@ -682,30 +702,10 @@ function ThreadNewChatSwitch({
     if (isLoading) {
       return;
     }
-
-    let cancelled = false;
-    // Clear immediately so the adapter never picks up a stale thread ID
-    // from a previous chat while we initialize the new one.
+    // Switch to a fresh local thread without persisting it yet.
+    // Persistence still happens on first message append.
+    void aui.threads().switchToNewThread();
     useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(null);
-
-    void (async () => {
-      try {
-        aui.threads().switchToNewThread();
-        const { remoteId } = await aui.threadListItem().initialize();
-        if (!cancelled) {
-          useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(remoteId);
-        }
-      } catch (error) {
-        if (!cancelled) {
-          useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(null);
-        }
-        console.error("Failed to initialize new chat thread", error);
-      }
-    })();
-
-    return () => {
-      cancelled = true;
-    };
   }, [aui, isLoading, nonce]);
 
   return null;
@@ -733,12 +733,14 @@ export function ChatRuntimeProvider({
   pairId,
   initialThreadId,
   newThreadNonce,
+  syncActiveThreadId = true,
 }: {
   children: ReactNode;
   modelType?: ModelType;
   pairId?: string;
   initialThreadId?: string;
   newThreadNonce?: string;
+  syncActiveThreadId?: boolean;
 }): ReactElement {
   const runtime = useRemoteThreadListRuntime({
     runtimeHook: useRuntimeHook,
@@ -754,8 +756,15 @@ export function ChatRuntimeProvider({
 
   return (
     <AssistantRuntimeProvider runtime={runtime} aui={aui}>
-      <ActiveThreadSync enabled={modelType === "base" && !pairId && !newThreadNonce} />
-      {initialThreadId && <ThreadAutoSwitch threadId={initialThreadId} />}
+      <ActiveThreadSync
+        enabled={modelType === "base" && !pairId && !newThreadNonce && !initialThreadId}
+      />
+      {initialThreadId && (
+        <ThreadAutoSwitch
+          threadId={initialThreadId}
+          syncActiveThreadId={syncActiveThreadId}
+        />
+      )}
       {!initialThreadId && newThreadNonce && (
         <ThreadNewChatSwitch nonce={newThreadNonce} />
       )}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/thread-sidebar.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/thread-sidebar.tsx
index ba97d2ee6e..62246cdad5 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/thread-sidebar.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/thread-sidebar.tsx
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 } from "@hugeicons/core-free-icons";
 import { HugeiconsIcon } from "@hugeicons/react";
 import { db, useLiveQuery } from "./db";
+import { useChatRuntimeStore } from "./stores/chat-runtime-store";
 import type { ChatView, ThreadRecord } from "./types";
 
 interface SidebarItem {
@@ -76,12 +77,17 @@ export function ThreadSidebar({
   onNewCompare: () => void;
   showCompare: boolean;
 }) {
-  const allThreads = useLiveQuery(
-    () => db.threads.orderBy("createdAt").reverse().toArray(),
-    [],
-  );
+  const allThreads = useLiveQuery(async () => {
+    const threadIdsWithMessage = new Set(
+      (await db.messages.orderBy("threadId").uniqueKeys()) as string[],
+    );
+    const rows = await db.threads.orderBy("createdAt").reverse().toArray();
+    return rows.filter((t) => !t.archived && threadIdsWithMessage.has(t.id));
+  }, []);
   const items = groupThreads(allThreads ?? []);
-  const activeId = view.mode === "single" ? view.threadId : view.pairId;
+  const storeThreadId = useChatRuntimeStore((s) => s.activeThreadId);
+  const activeId =
+    view.mode === "single" ? (view.threadId ?? storeThreadId) : view.pairId;
 
   function viewForItem(item: SidebarItem): ChatView {
     return item.type === "single"
@@ -101,7 +107,11 @@ export function ThreadSidebar({
       }
     }
     if (activeId === item.id) {
-      onSelect({ mode: "single" });
+      // Directly set a new view with a nonce rather than going through
+      // onNewThread(), which may return early if the guard sees no
+      // threadId and no activeThreadId (after we just cleared it).
+      useChatRuntimeStore.getState().setActiveThreadId(null);
+      onSelect({ mode: "single", newThreadNonce: crypto.randomUUID() });
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/unsloth/models/_utils.py b/unsloth/models/_utils.py
index 9ee2ade3db..d8fe92739a 100644
--- a/unsloth/models/_utils.py
+++ b/unsloth/models/_utils.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-__version__ = "2026.4.3"
+__version__ = "2026.4.4"
 
 __all__ = [
     "SUPPORTS_BFLOAT16",