[FEATURE] Session transcript logging with thinking traces

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

I'd like the ability to log full session transcripts — including extended thinking content — to a file.

Use case

When pair-programming with Claude, the thinking traces (visible via Ctrl+O) are extremely valuable. They read like a colleague talking through their reasoning, which helps me understand Claude's approach, learn from it, and catch misunderstandings early. But this content is ephemeral — it's not persisted after the response completes, and there's no way to export or review it later. It's even deleted from the screen!

Why this matters

• Post-session review of reasoning helps users build better mental models of how Claude works
• Thinking traces are useful for debugging when Claude goes down a wrong path
• Teams could use transcripts for knowledge sharing and onboarding
• The content is already generated and paid for — it shouldn't be throwaway

Proposed Solution

What I'd like

• A setting or CLI flag to write session transcripts (including thinking) to a log file
• Ideally configurable: where the log is written, and whether to include thinking content
• The log should be stored somewhere that Claude won't read from by default, to avoid wasting context on self-referential content

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Interactive Mode (TUI)

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_