[BUG] --resume with session name/ID does not bypass picker; picker keyboard navigation broken

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

When running claude --resume <session-name> or claude --resume <session-id>, the interactive session picker always opens instead of directly resuming the specified session. The provided argument appears to be used only as a search filter in the picker.

Once in the picker with a filtered result:

• Pressing Enter does nothing — the session is not selected
• Pressing the down arrow does nothing — cannot navigate to highlight a result
• The only way out is Esc to cancel

This makes --resume unusable in aliases or scripts that need to non-interactively resume a specific session.

Note: Issue #23275 reports that claude --resume <session-id> works as a direct workaround on their system (Windows/PowerShell). On Linux/WSL2, it does not — it always opens the interactive picker.

What Should Happen?

Two expected behaviors (either would resolve the issue):

1. Preferred: claude --resume <session-id> should bypass the picker entirely and directly resume the session, enabling non-interactive/scripted usage.

1. Alternative: If the search filter yields exactly one match, auto-select it instead of requiring manual navigation. This would also make the picker more ergonomic for interactive use.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create and rename a session:

``
cd ~/git/myproject
claude
# Inside session, run: /rename MySession
# Exit with Ctrl+D
``

1. Note the session ID from ~/.claude/projects/<project>/*.jsonl (the file containing "customTitle":"MySession")
2. Attempt to resume by name: claude --resume "MySession"
3. Observe: picker opens with "MySession" in the search box, one result shown
4. Press Enter — nothing happens
5. Press down arrow — nothing happens
6. Only Esc works (to cancel)
7. Attempt to resume by ID: claude --resume <session-id-uuid>
8. Same result — picker opens, keyboard unresponsive

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Claude Code Version

2.1.34 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux (WSL2)

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

Use case: User has a chat alias in .bashrc that should directly resume a persistent conversational session:

alias chat='cd ~/git/chat && claude --resume <session-id>'

Current workaround is claude --continue which resumes the most recent session in the directory, but this is fragile — it resumes whichever session was last used, not a specific named session.

Related issues reviewed (none are duplicates):

• #23640 — configuring default picker scope (different issue)
• #23275 — empty picker list + session naming (different root cause, but notes --resume <id> works on Windows)
• #23061 — named sessions not appearing in picker (different issue)