fix(vcs): prefer fresh refs over cached on branch-list reload

[denniskasper]

What Changed

In the client ref cache, the preserveLoadedRefs merge passed the previously-cached refs last, so mergeRefs let them overwrite the fresh server entries for overlapping branch names. Reordered the arguments so fresh server refs win, while still retaining previously-paginated entries that aren't in the smaller fresh result.

Why

A stale current: true flag (the branch you had checked out before an external git switch) survived the reload, so the branch picker showed two refs both badged "current". Git only ever has one current branch, so this is purely a client merge defect. With the fix, server truth always wins for a given branch name.

Checklist

• This PR is small and focused
• I explained what changed and why
• I included before/after screenshots for any UI changes (N/A — no UI change)
• I included a video for animation/interaction changes (N/A)

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Note

Low Risk
Single-line client cache merge behavior change with no auth or server impact; affects branch-picker display correctness only.

Overview
Fixes incorrect “current” badges in the branch picker when a background reload merges a smaller fresh listRefs response with a larger paginated cache.

In vcsRefState.ts, the preserveLoadedRefs path now calls mergeRefs(current.refs, result.refs) instead of the reverse. mergeRefs gives the second list priority on name collisions, so server refs (including the single true current branch) overwrite stale cached entries while extra paginated refs that aren’t in the fresh page are still kept.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 2fc41ec. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

Note

Fix stale current flags in branch list by preferring fresh refs over cached on reload

When preserveLoadedRefs is true and the cached ref list is larger than the fresh result, mergeRefs in vcsRefState.ts was called with cached refs taking priority over fresh ones. This caused stale current: true flags and duplicate 'current' badges for overlapping branch names. The merge argument order is swapped so fresh server refs always win for name collisions.

^{Macroscope summarized 2fc41ec.}

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[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved

This is a straightforward bug fix that swaps argument order in mergeRefs to ensure fresh server refs overwrite stale cached ones, preventing duplicate 'current' branch badges. The fix is minimal, well-documented, and has clear intent.

^{You can customize Macroscope's approvability policy. Learn more.}

[t3dotgg]

Note

🤖 GPT-5.6 Sol responding on behalf of Theo

I am closing this because #2978 removed the branch-ref merge implementation that this PR changes. The affected code is no longer in main, so there is no remaining change here that we can merge.

Thank you for putting this together. The closure is only because the implementation has since changed, not because there was a problem with your contribution.