AddThisFeature

Read and Unread State

Show people which documents, threads, and records they have not looked at yet.

moderate Engagement

What it adds

Per-user read state on content items — documents, records, comment threads, list rows — with unread markers and counts that stay correct across devices and bulk actions.

What your agent is told to do

6
  1. 1

    Apply this to content the user browses, not to notifications. If the app already has a notification inbox with unread handling, reuse that state machine for content rather than forking a second, subtly different one.

  2. 2

    Decide and document the single rule for what marks an item read — opening it, dwelling on it for a moment, or an explicit action. Pick one and apply it everywhere.

  3. 3

    Store read state per user, on the server. Client-only state means a phone and a laptop disagree about the same inbox.

  4. 4

    Give the user manual control in both directions: mark as read, mark as unread, and mark all as read.

  5. 5

    Derive unread counts from the same query that renders the list, so the badge and the list can never disagree.

  6. 6

    Do NOT mark items read simply because they scrolled past. Passive scroll marking silently buries things people meant to come back to.

Edge cases it handles

7
  • Deleting or archiving an unread item must decrement the count immediately, not leave a badge pointing at nothing.
  • Unread counts must respect the active filter or scope, and the UI must be clear about which scope the number describes.
  • Bulk mark-as-read must be undoable, or at least confirmed, when it covers more than a screenful.
  • Re-importing or reprocessing data must not resurrect items as unread. Key read state to the item, not to the row version.
  • Two open tabs must converge. Marking read in one should not leave the other showing a stale badge indefinitely.
  • Cap the displayed count at a sensible ceiling (99+) rather than rendering a four-digit badge that breaks the layout.
  • In shared or team contexts, be explicit about whether read state is personal or shared. Guessing wrong here is a trust problem.

Definition of done

8
  • Read state is stored per user on the server and matches across devices.
  • One documented rule decides when an item becomes read.
  • Users can mark items read and unread individually, and read in bulk.
  • Unread counts stay correct after deletion, archiving, filtering, and bulk actions.
  • Reimported data does not flip existing items back to unread.
  • The badge count and the visible list never contradict each other.
  • The feature matches the existing design system.
  • No existing functionality is broken.

Related features

How it works

  1. 1

    Copy the link

    Grab the Markdown instruction URL for this feature.

  2. 2

    Give it to your AI

    Paste it into Claude Code, Cursor, v0, Lovable — whatever you build with.

  3. 3

    It inspects, then implements

    Your agent reads your existing app first, then adds the feature to fit it.

Works with your stack

These instructions are written to adapt. They tell the agent to detect your framework, match your existing design system, and reuse what you already have — rather than assuming a particular stack.

Need it tighter than that? Customize the feature and tell it exactly what you're running.