[FEATURE] Delete and rename chats in VS Code extension

This would be a game changer. Currently impossible to stay well organized.

Common needs:

• Delete unused/unnecessary conversations to declutter
• Rename conversations to find and reference them later
• Reorganize as projects evolve

The only workaround I've found is starting each conversation with a prefix like [Feature-123], but if you forget it once, you're screwed.

Even basic rename + delete would dramatically improve the UX.

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The problem is still here. I believe this worked before, Anthropic why did it stop working?
This starts being Critical, for people working with many windows and many chats it gets to be a mess without deleting and renaming.

Issue Status: Active and Impacting Daily Workflow

This feature remains critical for productive multi-chat workflows. The inability to rename or delete chat sessions in the VS Code extension creates significant organizational overhead.

Current Impact:

• Managing 4-6+ concurrent Claude chat sessions becomes unmanageable
• No way to distinguish between sessions except by opening each tab and reading conversation history
• Session list grows indefinitely with no deletion capability
• The /rename command available in the CLI version is not available in the VS Code extension

Attempted Workarounds:

• Prefixing conversations manually (e.g., [Feature-123]) - requires discipline and fails if forgotten even once
• Third-party extension "Claude Chats" exists as a workaround but shouldn't be necessary for basic UX

Requested Solution:
Implement basic chat session management:

1. Right-click context menu option to rename sessions
2. Delete/remove sessions from the sidebar
3. Parity with CLI /rename functionality

Business Case:
This issue has 4 duplicates (#11145, #11694, #11808, #15050) indicating widespread need. For developers managing multiple projects or features simultaneously, this represents a daily friction point that degrades the extension's usability compared to alternatives.

Priority should be elevated from "High" to "Critical" given the frequency of duplicate reports and the fundamental nature of session organization for power users.

I currently have 16 windows open, all with the same name because I start by calling some specific system instructions. This is a critical requirement

I currently have 16 windows open, all with the same name because I start by calling some specific system instructions. This is a critical requirement

Lol I feel you, this problem with a hooks/re-prompting to a new chat system gotta be exacerbated so hard. We could make the system make for each new chat's first prompt come numbered so we can distinguish the chats etc.

Yet still this is a basic feature that I even believe we had before, idk why it isn't simply implemented. Does Anthropic not care because it's Beta or what?
Matter of fact Anthropic, you just develop Claude AI and Claude Code why don't you just open-source the VS Code extension so we can fix it and develop it for you? VS Code is already about that. It would be a win-win, the users wouldn't need to decode the minified extension. @claude

please fix this. i need to delete conversations in my claude code chat

+1

+1

+100!

The retention of past conversations is very close to pointless right now. Here's what the top of my list looks like right now:

<img width="382" height="369" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e0a1a1fb-8a48-40f5-bf70-14fec7511b12" />

I've just taken to putting my ticket number in first, before anything else, so at least that will be there from now on (as long as I don't get another API error, at least). And I can't delete the ones with API errors. Asking a question in the 'Untitled' one DID change the title, but that's not very helpful.

+1

for forked conversations it's impossible to know which is which without opening them all

<img width="402" height="128" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b36ae4ab-be6c-4cfb-8adb-555a8d2fa192" />

+1

+1

+1

+1

Yeah, either with workflows that create chats with lots of repeated names that are the generic starts of the prompts, or when we fork conversations in the extension itself.
It gets to be a mess, with chat titles repeated on end from different forks of a conversation to keep context.

+1

+1 please fix this!!

+1 - such a basic but important feature request!

Yes please.

+1

This shouldn't be considered just an enhancement. Its an essential part of long-term usage.

I am actually considering switching to Codex just because of this limitation. It is SO annoying the fact that you can't remove old conversations from the Claude Code's dropdown...

any upgrade on this?

+1

+1

I'm currently manually renaming my terminal tabs using the in-built VS Code rename functionality and then using the same name to rename the session. Definitely a pain point!

I also claude-coded a vs code extension which color codes the terminal tab name text - so I can different between planning sessions, worktrees, bug fixes etc.

Would be so great to have this all natively in Claude Code where possible!

Nuts this feature hasn't been included yet!

It seems they added this feature but now, claude doesn't seem to store new conversations! After this update, whenever I restart vs code I cannot see any of the new conversations I made, only past ones that were already there before the update.

It seems they added this feature but now, claude doesn't seem to store new conversations! After this update, whenever I restart vs code I cannot see any of the new conversations I made, only past ones that were already there before the update.

@man2machine Awesome, it's working on my end too. I won't restart in a good bit then lol.

We need a select-all and checkbox-style multi-select for deletion.
Best.

It appears that the renaming system doesn't still fully work yet. Because after a while of using the chat, claude code tends to rename the chat again, overriding what you had set. I am guessing this is triggered after compaction but I am not sure.

It appears that the renaming system doesn't still fully work yet. Because after a while of using the chat, claude code tends to rename the chat again, overriding what you had set. I am guessing this is triggered after compaction but I am not sure.

lmao yeah, they had it working in the previous extension version.

Personally, I use task cards, so for me, my first line is nearly always as you said - 'Feature 123' (or in my case 'Task 123.1.2.....') - that worked fine, but now AI-renaming of chat sessions mean this is also broken. So messy now trying to find chat sessions that relate to tasks. The options you mentioned to Delete/Rename, I see in v 2.1.81 extension sidebar (not CLI), but I don't see an option to Archive.

This would be a game changer. Currently impossible to stay well organized. Common needs: Delete unused/unnecessary conversations to declutter Rename conversations to find and reference them later * Reorganize as projects evolve The only workaround I've found is starting each conversation with a prefix like [Feature-123], but if you forget it once, you're screwed. Even basic rename + delete would dramatically improve the UX.

Renaming for organization would be helpful. But providing the option for deleting sessions locally and at anthropic's end is essential for data privacy and trust. Discovering this isn't an option leaves me looking for another LLM for many of my needs.

Issue is still present, see below. After a Developer: Reload Window the rename does seem to have effect in the background.

Issue (can be used as a temp workaround):

!Image

Issue is still present, see below. After a Developer: Reload Window the rename does seem to have effect in the background. Issue (can be used as a temp workaround):

The trick to fix this is to click the Get Help button in the app and request a refund.

#11145 is only a partial duplicate. This feature request is about deletion and renaming. #11145 is only about renaming. Currently /rename does not work in VSCode.

Built a plugin that does the delete/rename side of this for CLI: github.com/urav06/claudestrophobic

It lists sessions by name (resolved from transcript metadata), deletes them cleanly, and prunes old ones by age. Cleanup paths are based on Claude Code's recently surfaced internals so it catches transcripts, subagent data, file-history, and session-env.

Doesn't solve the VS Code UI side of things, but works if you're in the terminal.

Does anyone want to create a VSCode extension for cleaning up old sessions?

It should be relatively easy:

1. Go to ~/.claude/projects/<project-name>
2. Search for the beginning of the first user message:

{"type":"queue-operation","operation":"enqueue","timestamp":"2026-04-24T15:45:11.309Z","sessionId":"f5b1fa5d-e3f8-4a8a-b30b-b922ec571987"}
{"type":"queue-operation","operation":"dequeue","timestamp":"2026-04-24T15:45:11.348Z","sessionId":"f5b1fa5d-e3f8-4a8a-b30b-b922ec571987"}
{"parentUuid":null,"isSidechain":false,"promptId":"1b9a6a2b-b040-48c5-b0e0-bcb74b7095e0","type":"user","message":{"role":"user","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Switch to dev branch"}]},

1. Provide a list of sessions and a command to delete

So I deleted the test session called "Switch to dev branch"

This instruction works for everyone who wants to clean it up manually.