Changes to UI settings ignored since 5.2

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I checked and did not find my issue in the already reported ones

Describe the bug

Since I upgraded from DT 5.0 to DT 5.2, changes I make to the UI settings are no longer respected.
Those I have particularly noticed are:

1. Toolbars I've hidden (such as image thumbnails along the bottom) keep reappearing.
2. Before this update, the filters view stayed in the state it was in when I last used DT, now it defaults to showing all modules. So I have to search every time for the filter I used last time.
3. Although I've hidden the histogram, it keeps reappearing.

This seems not to just be an inconsistency with the previous version, as even when I specifically change everything to my taste, it reverts the next time DT is started

Steps to reproduce

1. Start Darktable 5.2
2. UI settings are wrong

Expected behavior

Previously made changes to the UI should be respected.

Logfile | Screenshot | Screencast

No response

Commit

No response

Where did you obtain darktable from?

distro packaging

darktable version

5.2.0

What OS are you using?

Linux

What is the version of your OS?

Manjaro Linux, upgraded to latest version on 12/07/2025

Describe your system

No response

Are you using OpenCL GPU in darktable?

No

If yes, what is the GPU card and driver?

No response

Please provide additional context if applicable. You can attach files too, but might need to rename to .txt or .zip

No response

No source files, tests, or entry points are identified in the issue. Reproduce the UI-settings reset in darktable 5.2.0 on Linux using the listed toolbar, histogram, and filter-view settings, then trace where those preferences are saved and restored. Done means the configured UI state persists after restarting darktable.