Ditch Apple's mediocre state restoration and do it myself

Thanks for filing an issue! Please answer the questions below so I can help you.

• iTerm2 version: 3.0.4
• OS version: OS X 10.11.6
• Attach ~/Library/Preferences/com.googlecode.iterm2.plist here (drag-drop from finder into this window) com.googlecode.iterm2.plist
• Attach a debug log, if possible. Instructions at https://iterm2.com/debuglog
• Are you reporting a performance issue or a hang? Please attach a sample. Instructions at https://gitlab.com/gnachman/iterm2/wikis/HowToSample
• Are you reporting a crash? Please attach the crash log. Instructions at https://gitlab.com/gnachman/iterm2/wikis/crash-logs

Detailed steps to reproduce the problem:

1. Create multiple sessions inside a single iTerm window using "Split Pane Vertically" or "Split Pane Horizontally"
2. Give different commands to different sessions
3. Restart the system

What happened: The history of commands is the same for all the sessions opened inside the window. The history of each session is not preserved.

What should have happened: The history of each session should be preserved.

Does this only happen on system restart, or does it also happen if you force quit iTerm2?

Please note that window contents are only saved when you switch to another program (e.g., by pressing cmd-tab).

It doesn't happen if I force quit iTerm2. The history of commands for each session is preserved. I don't see the session restored message in any of the sessions either. So, it happens only when Mac is restarted and iTerm2 sessions are restored.

I have attached a screen-shot of how I use multiple sessions within same window.

It's really odd that you would get the same history in every pane. I made a special build with extra logging for you. Please do this:

1. Install http://iterm2.com/adhocbuilds/iTerm2-3_0_20160930_221121-adhoc.zip
2. Turn on Prefs > Advanced > Start debug logging automatically when iTerm2 is launched
3. Reproduce the issue
4. After iTerm2 is restored with the incorrect layout, select iTerm2 > Toggle debug logging to stop debug logging.
5. Attach /tmp/debuglog.txt to this issue.

Hi George,

I am unable to access the link. Its broken.

Could you please send me a valid one?

Thank you, Vivek Ratnavel

Sorry about that. Please try this link instead. http://iterm2.com/adhocbuilds/iTerm2-3_0_20161002_133158-adhoc.zip

Attaching debuglog.txt

debuglog.txt

It looks like the windows' contents didn't get restored at all in that debug log. I don't see that the contents were restored or that there are split panes. Perhaps I've misunderstood the issue, or maybe the bug wasn't reproduced in this debug log?

George,

I think you understood the issue correctly, but this time the split panes did not get restored at all. iTerm opened as if it opened for the first time (Just one terminal session). It did not restore the sessions.

It's hard to say why that happened. One thing to note is that the restorable state is only saved when you switch away from iTerm2 to another app (e.g., by pressing cmd-tab). Can you make a debug log that does restore windows with the incorrect state as you described in the original report?

I see. So, that command-tab switch might be a problem. Since, I usually use iTerm in full screen. I have a full screen window of iTerm with a lot of sessions in one workspace and keep switching between workspaces.

Do you think that might be causing this issue?

My guess is that it never gets to save restorable state. You can verify by running tail -f on /var/log/system.log and see if it ever writes a line like this when you switch workspaces:

Oct 18 22:18:38 Georges-iMac iTerm2[12055]: Time to encode state for window <PseudoTerminal: 0x7fe66a616250 tabs=1 window=<PTYWindow: 0x7fe66c0265b0 frame=NSRect: {{0, 950}, {570, 452}} title=2. tail alpha=1.000000 isMain=0 isKey=0 isVisible=1 delegate=0x7fe66a616250>>: 0.001579999923706055

If that isn't logged, we never got a chance to save state.

Yes George. I confirmed that the state never gets saved when switching workspaces. It gets saved only when switching to iTerm by pressing Command

• Tab. This explains why history was not saved since I never would have switched to iTerm by Command + Tab. I always would have iTerm running in a separate workspace.

I'm going to repurpose this issue to abandon the OS's state restoration mechanism and do it myself.

Changed title: History of each session is not preserved after restart → Ditch Apple's mediocre state restoration and do it myself

Milestone changed to %Review for next version