VSCode extension: past session history not shown after window is closed

[yoootam-arch]

Description

When using Claude Code via the VSCode extension on Windows, past conversations disappear from the session picker after closing and reopening the window. Only the current active session is shown under the "Local" tab.

Investigation

The session data (.jsonl files) is persisted correctly under ~/.claude/projects/<project>/. For example, my project has 12 saved sessions going back weeks.

However, the ~/.claude/sessions/ directory (which appears to be the index the UI reads from) only keeps entries for currently running PIDs. Once a window is closed and the process dies, the session entry is removed from the index — making the conversation invisible in the session picker, even though the data still exists on disk.

Expected behavior

All past sessions for the current project should remain visible and resumable in the session picker, not just the currently active one.

Environment

• Claude Code VSCode extension
• Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200
• Working directory: UNC network path (\server\share\)

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Past Conversations empty on Windows with mapped network drives (realpath resolves to UNC path) #34125
2. VS Code Extension: Past Conversations not loaded after restart #12872
3. [BUG] VSCode extension: session history lost on every restart when workspace is on SSHFS/network mapped drive (Windows) #39759

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #34125.

If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.