@AetherClaude thoughts on this particular PR?

Confirmed the diagnosis by reading src/gui/WaveApplet.cpp:

• The constructor ends with a hardcoded setSettingsExpanded(true); (line 171), overriding any prior state at every launch.
• setSettingsExpanded() (line 333) only flips visibility and rebuilds geometry — it never touches AppSettings, so even if the read side were wired up there'd be nothing to read.

The rest of the applet already uses the auto& settings = AppSettings::instance(); settings.setValue(...); settings.save(); pattern (see the View / Zoom / FPS / Window handlers), so the drawer toggle should follow suit. Because sizeHint() / minimumSizeHint() already conditionalize on m_settingsDrawer->isHidden(), restoring just the boolean is enough — the compact height falls out automatically. Defaulting the read to "True" preserves behavior for users whose settings file predates the fix.

Suggested patch:

// In WaveApplet::WaveApplet(...), replace the hardcoded expand near line 171:
const bool drawerExpanded = AppSettings::instance()
    .value("WaveApplet_DrawerExpanded", "True").toString()
    .compare("True", Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0;
setSettingsExpanded(drawerExpanded);
setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height());

// In WaveApplet::setSettingsExpanded(bool expanded), persist on every change:
void WaveApplet::setSettingsExpanded(bool expanded)
{
    if (!m_settingsDrawer)
        return;

    const bool currentlyExpanded = !m_settingsDrawer->isHidden();
    if (currentlyExpanded == expanded)
        return;

    m_settingsDrawer->setVisible(expanded);
    setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height());
    updateGeometry();
    adjustSize();
    if (auto* p = parentWidget())
        p->updateGeometry();

    auto& settings = AppSettings::instance();
    settings.setValue("WaveApplet_DrawerExpanded",
                      expanded ? QStringLiteral("True") : QStringLiteral("False"));
    settings.save();
}

Two small notes:

1. Writing inside setSettingsExpanded() rather than at the toggle call site means any future caller (e.g. a menu action or keyboard shortcut) gets persistence for free, and the early-return at line 339 guarantees we never write on a no-op transition.
2. The "True"/"False" string convention matches how AppSettings is used elsewhere in this repo for boolean-ish keys, which keeps the settings file uniform.

A maintainer can authorize the orchestrator to land this fix by adding the aetherclaude-eligible label.

73, Jeremy KK7GWY & Claude (AI dev partner)

@AetherClaude label applied for your takeover.

Re-read src/gui/WaveApplet.cpp — the diagnosis lines up exactly:

• Line 171: constructor ends with a hardcoded setSettingsExpanded(true); followed by setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height());. No read of saved state.
• Lines 333–348: setSettingsExpanded() toggles visibility, recomputes geometry, and returns early on a no-op transition (line 339), but never persists anything.
• Lines 180–196: sizeHint() / minimumSizeHint() already key off m_settingsDrawer->isHidden(), so once the boolean is restored the compact height falls out for free — no separate height key needed.
• Surrounding handlers (View, Zoom, FPS, Window — lines 228–230, 259–261, 290–292, 324–326) all use auto& settings = AppSettings::instance(); settings.setValue(...); settings.save();, so the drawer toggle should follow the same pattern.

One small wrinkle worth calling out: on a fresh construction the drawer's QFrame is visible by default, so calling setSettingsExpanded(true) from the constructor hits the early-return at line 339 and skips the setMinimumHeight(...) inside. Today that's masked by the explicit setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height()); on line 172 — and the patch below keeps that explicit call, so the no-op-on-restore case stays correct.

Proposed patch:

// src/gui/WaveApplet.cpp — replace the hardcoded expand near line 171:
const bool drawerExpanded = AppSettings::instance()
    .value("WaveApplet_DrawerExpanded", "True").toString()
    .compare("True", Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0;
setSettingsExpanded(drawerExpanded);
setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height());

// src/gui/WaveApplet.cpp — persist in setSettingsExpanded():
void WaveApplet::setSettingsExpanded(bool expanded)
{
    if (!m_settingsDrawer)
        return;

    const bool currentlyExpanded = !m_settingsDrawer->isHidden();
    if (currentlyExpanded == expanded)
        return;

    m_settingsDrawer->setVisible(expanded);
    setMinimumHeight(minimumSizeHint().height());
    updateGeometry();
    adjustSize();
    if (auto* p = parentWidget())
        p->updateGeometry();

    auto& settings = AppSettings::instance();
    settings.setValue("WaveApplet_DrawerExpanded",
                      expanded ? QStringLiteral("True") : QStringLiteral("False"));
    settings.save();
}

Two notes:

1. Persisting inside setSettingsExpanded() (rather than at the double-click call site at line 176) means any future caller — menu action, keyboard shortcut, programmatic toggle — gets persistence for free. The early-return at line 339 guarantees we never write on a no-op, so the constructor's restoring call won't dirty AppSettings on launch.
2. The "True"/"False" string convention matches how the rest of this repo serializes boolean-ish keys to AppSettings, keeping the settings file uniform.

The aetherclaude-eligible label is already applied — the orchestrator will pick this up on the next webhook cycle and open the PR.

73, Jeremy KK7GWY & Claude (AI dev partner)