[BUG] "Failed to load session" errors in Claude Code Mac Desktop
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Body:
Sessions from earlier in the week show up in the session picker UI but fail to load with a "Failed to load session" error.
Environment:
macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
Claude Code (latest as of 2025-01-25)
What I found:
The session appears in the session list with its title and timestamp
The corresponding directory on disk (~/.claude/projects/.../) exists but contains only a subagents/ folder — no session transcript
sessions-index.json has an empty entries array despite multiple sessions existing
Multiple sessions from different days are affected
Expected behavior: Clicking a session in the list should load the conversation.
Actual behavior: "Failed to load session" error. The session data was never persisted to disk.
What Should Happen?
Expected behavior: Clicking a session in the list should load the conversation.
Actual behavior: "Failed to load session" error. The session data was never persisted to disk.
Error Messages/Logs
"Failed to load session" message with only option being "Back to landing page" buttonSteps to Reproduce
Click on sessions from last Wednesday
See error messages
Claude Model
Opus
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude Code version 2.0.76
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
_No response_
6 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
May be related, but difference is sessions showing up in sidebar of CC Mac desktop UI but not loading or generating "Failed to load session" messages when selected
Suggested by CC:
Useful details to include:
macOS Darwin 25.2.0
Sessions appear in sidebar but load blank / "Failed to Load Session"
sessions-index.json has empty entries array
Session directories exist but contain no conversation.jsonl files
history.jsonl only has 9 entries despite 14 session directories
now happening within session. I stopped Claude and it went into this failure mode - lost the conversation. now none of them will open
Ah, closing - someone online said to set to 0 cleanupPeriodDays so conversations were kept longer, but instead led to deletions
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.