[BUG] Desktop app "Local" sessions filter doesn't show CLI sessions

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?

The Desktop app's Code tab has a "Local" environment filter for sessions, but it doesn't display sessions created via the claude CLI command in terminal.

I have 96 valid sessions stored in ~/.claude/projects/<project>/sessions-index.json. These sessions:

• Work correctly with claude --resume in terminal
• Are valid JSON with proper structure (sessionId, fullPath, summary, messageCount, created, modified, etc.)

When I open the Desktop app Code tab and filter by Environment → "Local", only 1 session appears - the one created from the Desktop app. The 96 CLI sessions are completely invisible.

The Desktop app appears to have its own separate session tracking instead of reading from the shared sessions-index.json.

What Should Happen?

The "Local" filter should show ALL local sessions stored in ~/.claude/projects/, regardless of whether they were created from:

• Terminal CLI (claude command)
• Desktop app
• VS Code extension

If there's a "Local" filter option, it should display local sessions.

Error Messages/Logs

"Could not load cloud sessions." sometimes appears at the top of the sessions sidebar, but this shouldn't affect local sessions.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open terminal in a project directory
2. Run claude to start a CLI session, have a conversation, exit
3. Repeat a few times to create multiple sessions
4. Verify sessions exist: ls ~/.claude/projects/-<your-project-path>/sessions-index.json
5. Open Claude Desktop app
6. Go to Code tab
7. Click filter dropdown → Environment → "Local"
8. Observe: Only sessions created from Desktop app appear; CLI sessions are missing

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.20 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Warp

Additional Information

_No response_