[BUG] Sessions lost when project directory is moved or renamed

[bishalramdam]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

When a project directory is moved or renamed on the filesystem, all previous Claude Code sessions become inaccessible in the VS Code extension. Sessions still exist on disk under ~/.claude/projects/ but are orphaned because Claude Code uses the absolute filesystem path as the project identifier.

After reorganizing ~134 repos on my machine, I lost access to 63+ sessions across 10+ projects. The data is still there but invisible.

Example:

~/.claude/projects/C--Users-User-Desktop-my-project/       <- 15 old sessions here (orphaned)
~/.claude/projects/C--Users-User-Projects-my-project/       <- new empty dir created after move

What Should Happen?

Sessions should follow the project when it's moved or renamed. At minimum, there should be a way to migrate/link old sessions to the new path. Ideally, Claude Code would use git remote URL as a secondary identifier so repo identity persists across moves.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a project at C:\Users\User\Desktop\my-project in VS Code
2. Have several Claude Code sessions/conversations in that project
3. Close VS Code
4. Move the project folder to C:\Users\User\Projects\my-project
5. Open the project from the new path in VS Code
6. Open Claude Code sidebar — previous sessions are gone, history is empty

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Claude Code Version

2.1.72 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Common real-world triggers:

• Repo reorganization / filesystem cleanup
• Renaming a folder
• Moving repos between directories

Suggested solutions:

1. Session migration command: e.g., /migrate-sessions <old-path>
2. Git-based identity: Use git remote URL as project identifier instead of only filesystem path
3. Manual linking: Let users associate old project paths with new ones in settings

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Resuming sessions only works from the directory in which they were started #5768
2. Allow resuming conversations from different directories #28745
3. [BUG] Claude Conversation History Lost on Reconnect Due to Path Resolution #21280

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[howermj]

Same problem from the Cowork side. I filed #38469 independently and just closed it as a duplicate of this issue.

Worth noting that in Cowork, the blast radius is wider than just conversation history — moving a project folder also orphans project-level settings, CLAUDE.md instruction bindings, skill configurations, and Dispatch channel associations. Everything is keyed to the absolute path.

The suggestion in this issue to use git remote URL as a secondary identifier is a good fit for code repos but won't cover non-git projects (writing systems, research workflows, etc.). A project-local ID stored in .claude/project.json would be more universal — it travels with the folder regardless of whether git is involved, and the application can re-match on detection.

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.