[BUG] Past Conversations empty on Windows with mapped network drives (realpath resolves to UNC path)

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/33140
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/31219
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/33408

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Confirmed on v2.1.76 with a mapped network drive (X: → UNC \server\share\...). Same silent failure — list_sessions returns n=0 even with 11 sessions on disk.

Root cause confirmed:

The function is IS(v) in v2.1.76 (FS(z) in v2.1.74):

async function IS(v) {
  try { return (await N3.realpath(v)).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return v.normalize("NFC") }
}

N3 is require("fs/promises"). On Windows, fs.promises.realpath() resolves mapped drive letters to UNC paths. fs.realpathSync() (the sync variant from require("fs")) does not — it returns the drive-letter path unchanged.

Minimal fix (single line change):

// v2.1.76 — replace N3.realpath (async/promises) with b2.realpathSync (sync/fs):
async function IS(v) {
  try { return b2.realpathSync(v).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return v.normalize("NFC") }
}

// v2.1.74:
async function FS(z) {
  try { return DH.realpathSync(z).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return z.normalize("NFC") }
}

Both b2 and DH are require("fs") — already in scope, declared a few hundred bytes before their fs/promises counterparts.

Effect: After this change, listSessions() immediately returns the correct session count (n=11 in my case), activateSessionFromServer fires, and panel history displays correctly on restart.

The junction/symlink workaround works but requires knowing the UNC-sanitized path, which varies per machine. The one-line fix is cleaner and handles it at the source.

---

Note: this bug also breaks VS Code panel tab session restore — not just the Past Conversations dropdown. When a panel tab is restored via deserializeWebviewPanel on restart, it calls activateSessionFromServer with the saved session ID, which depends on listSessions() returning results. With n=0, the panel silently stays blank. Two separate symptoms, one root cause.

---

This is a different root cause from #33140/#31219/#33408 — those describe the ENOENT on readdir (downstream symptom); this identifies the exact IS()/FS() function and the fs/promises vs fs async behaviour difference that causes the path mismatch in the first place.

Update for v2.1.78: The function was renamed and variables changed again. New targets:

// v2.1.78 — function renamed pP, async fs = M3, sync fs = Iq:
async function pP(z) {
  try { return Iq.realpathSync(z).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return z.normalize("NFC") }
}

Summary across versions:

| Version | Function | Async fs var | Sync fs var |
|---------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| v2.1.74 | FS(z) | o8 | DH |
| v2.1.76 | IS(v) | N3 | b2 |
| v2.1.78 | pP(z) | M3 | Iq |

All three sync vars are require("fs") — already in scope. The fix pattern is identical across versions; only the names change.

Update for v2.1.79: Only the function name changed again. All other variables identical to v2.1.78.

| Version | Function | Async fs var | Sync fs var |
|---------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| v2.1.74 | FS(z) | o8 | DH |
| v2.1.76 | IS(v) | N3 | b2 |
| v2.1.78 | pP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.79 | hP(z) | M3 | Iq |

// v2.1.79:
async function hP(z) {
  try { return Iq.realpathSync(z).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return z.normalize("NFC") }
}

The function has been renamed in every minor release since v2.1.76. The fix pattern is always the same — swap the async fs/promises call for the sync fs equivalent that's already in scope.

Update for v2.1.81: Multiple variable changes. Updated table:

| Version | Function | Async fs var | Sync fs var |
|---------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| v2.1.74 | FS(z) | o8 | DH |
| v2.1.76 | IS(v) | N3 | b2 |
| v2.1.78 | pP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.79 | hP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.81 | hP(z) | F3 | bW |

v2.1.81 kept the function name hP but changed both fs variable names (M3→F3, Iq→bW). Confirmed patched and working across 11 user accounts (v2.1.74, v2.1.76, v2.1.81), 0 failures.

Update for v2.1.83: Function renamed again, parameter changed, both fs variables changed.

| Version | Function | Async fs var | Sync fs var |
|---------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| v2.1.74 | FS(z) | o8 | DH |
| v2.1.76 | IS(v) | N3 | b2 |
| v2.1.78 | pP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.79 | hP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.81 | hP(z) | F3 | bW |
| v2.1.83 | KT(K) | i1 | WN |

// v2.1.83:
async function KT(K) {
  try { return WN.realpathSync(K).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return K.normalize("NFC") }
}

Note: v2.1.83 also changed the function parameter from z to K, and both the async and sync fs variable names changed. The function name, parameter, and fs variables have now all changed simultaneously — the only stable pattern across versions is the function signature shape and the .normalize("NFC") calls.

Confirmed patched and working on v2.1.83 across 16 user accounts (spanning v2.1.74 through v2.1.83), 0 failures.

Update for v2.1.87: Function renamed again, all variables changed.

| Version | Function | Async fs var | Sync fs var |
|---------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| v2.1.74 | FS(z) | o8 | DH |
| v2.1.76 | IS(v) | N3 | b2 |
| v2.1.78 | pP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.79 | hP(z) | M3 | Iq |
| v2.1.81 | hP(z) | F3 | bW |
| v2.1.83 | KT(K) | i1 | WN |
| v2.1.87 | Oh(K) | w3 | uv |

// v2.1.87:
async function Oh(K) {
  try { return uv.realpathSync(K).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return K.normalize("NFC") }
}

Seven versions tracked, bug still present and unfixed. Confirmed patched and working across 17 user accounts (v2.1.74 through v2.1.87), 0 failures.

Still reproduces on 2.1.113 (and 2.1.112). Same root cause as described above: the extension's cwd-normalizer calls fs.realpath on Windows, which resolves mapped drives to their UNC target. The project-key hasher then produces --server-share-… while claude.exe writes to ~/.claude/projects/X--…, so the lookup never matches and listSessions returns [].

Current minified signature (identical body across versions, only symbols change):

async function <fn>(K){try{return(await <fs>.realpath(K)).normalize("NFC")}catch{return K.normalize("NFC")}}

• 2.1.112 — named up, fs aliased as W3
• 2.1.113 — named Gl, fs aliased as M3

One-line local patch that fixes it on both versions:

async function <fn>(K){
  if (process.platform === "win32") return K.normalize("NFC");
  try { return (await <fs>.realpath(K)).normalize("NFC") }
  catch { return K.normalize("NFC") }
}

I have a pattern-based re-apply script that matches the realpath(K)).normalize("NFC") body rather than the symbol names, so it survives version bumps. Happy to share if useful.

Filed #50170 with this info before noticing this was the canonical thread — closing that as a duplicate of this one.

Also happens with directly-opened UNC workspaces, with truncation rather than empty list.
Affected path: `\\homeassistant\config` as in https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50590

Due to this error, not only are the history entries not displayed, but the system is also looking for the memory.md file in the wrong location

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

Requesting reopen — closed by the stale-bot, not resolved; still reproduces on
extension v2.1.183.

New, actionable detail (full analysis in #63527): the realpathSync fix discussed here
and in #33140 is already in the 2.1.183 bundle, but the IDE's session list bypasses it.
There are two enumeration paths:

• Yre({sessionStore}) -> F2e() -> Qre() = realpathSync [drive letter preserved]
• Yre({dir}) -> KAe() -> GAe() -> OY() = await realpath [mapped drive -> UNC]

listSessions() calls Yre({dir, includeWorktrees:false}) with no sessionStore, so it takes
the async-realpath branch (OY) — the unfixed one. Fixing it is one call site: make OY use
realpathSync like Qre, or route listSessions through the sessionStore path.

Continuing the version table from the now-locked #33140:
v2.1.183 — resolver on the IDE path: OY(e) = await realpath(e); sync counterpart Qre(e)
= realpathSync(resolve(e)); sanitizer Kv (reader) / _se (writer).

New environment variant: DFS/SASE-mapped home drive (H: -> \\<corp>\dfs\...), i.e. beyond
the SMB/NAS/subst/Google Drive/OneDrive cases already on file. Active open companion: #63527.