/rename session name not indexed — cannot resume by name
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Feb 17, 2026 by umitkacar Closed Feb 20, 2026
Description
The /rename command in Claude Code allows users to rename their sessions (e.g., /rename transfer). However, the renamed session cannot be found or resumed by its name — only by UUID.
Current Behavior
- User renames a session:
/rename transfer - The rename is stored only as a message inside the session JSONL file:
``jsonl``
{"type":"user","message":"<command-name>/rename</command-name><command-args>transfer</command-args>"}
- The
sessions-index.jsonhas nonameordisplayNamefield — onlysessionId,summary,firstPrompt, etc. claude --resume transferdoes not find the session- User must know the UUID to resume:
claude --resume 253352ca-a890-4dd8-8083-c378f38e45b5
Expected Behavior
/renameshould updatesessions-index.jsonwith adisplayNamefieldclaude --resume <name>should search by display name (exact or fuzzy match)claude --continueor session picker should show the renamed display name
Steps to Reproduce
- Start a new session:
claude - Do some work
- Rename the session:
/rename my-important-session - Exit:
/exit - Try to resume by name:
claude --resume my-important-session→ fails - The only way to resume is by UUID from
sessions-index.json
Impact
/renameis effectively a cosmetic-only feature with no functional benefit- Users who rename sessions expect to find them by name later
- Without name-based lookup,
/renamecreates a false sense of organization
Proposed Solution
- Add
displayNamefield tosessions-index.jsonschema - Update
/renameto write both to JSONL (for history) AND tosessions-index.json - Support
claude --resume <name>with exact/fuzzy name matching - Show display names in session picker /
claude sessions list
Environment
- Claude Code: v2.1.42
- OS: macOS Sequoia 15.3.2
- Shell: zsh
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