[Bug] Session Resume Fails With Misleading Error When Working Directory Differs From Launch Directory

Bug Description
Bug Report: Session Resume Fails When Working Directory Differs From Launch Directory

Issue Summary

claude --resume cannot resume a session from a different working directory than where it was originally launched. The session ID is reported as "invalid or expired" — with no indication that the actual
problem is a directory mismatch. This forces users to choose between losing their session or living with a misconfigured workspace for the session's lifetime.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Claude Code from a parent directory:

cd ~/code
claude

1. Work extensively on files inside a subdirectory repo (~/code/monofolk) using absolute paths — everything functions correctly.
2. Notice the statusline shows code instead of monofolk and no git branch, because workspace.current_dir is set to the launch directory.
3. Exit the session.
4. Attempt to resume from the correct directory:

cd ~/code/monofolk
claude --resume <session-id>

1. Claude Code reports the session ID is "invalid or expired".
2. If you ask Claude Code about the error, it tells you the session ID is invalid or expired — blaming the user rather than identifying the directory mismatch as the cause.

Expected Behavior

claude --resume <session-id> should resume any session regardless of the current working directory. Ideally, workspace.current_dir should update to the new launch directory on resume, so the statusline
and any directory-dependent behavior reflects where the user actually is.

At minimum, if directory mismatch is the reason for failure, the error message should say so: "Session was created in ~/code. Resume from that directory, or use --cwd to override."

Actual Behavior

1. The session ID is valid — it exists in ~/.claude/history.jsonl and the transcript file is intact.
2. Resume fails with a misleading "invalid or expired" error because the session is scoped to a different directory.
3. Claude Code itself (when asked to diagnose) parrots the error back — "the session ID is invalid or expired" — providing no actionable guidance.

Root Cause Analysis

Based on how Claude Code stores sessions:

1. Session storage: Sessions are stored in ~/.claude/projects/ under paths encoded from the original working directory, and indexed in ~/.claude/history.jsonl with the absolute project path.
2. Directory coupling: --continue explicitly filters to "most recent session in the current directory." --resume also scopes session lookup by directory. A session created in ~/code is invisible from

~/code/monofolk — the lookup fails and surfaces as "invalid or expired."

1. Misleading error: The "invalid or expired" message is a catch-all for "session not found in the current directory's scope." It doesn't distinguish between a genuinely missing session and a directory

mismatch. This is the worst part — the session exists, the ID is correct, and the user is told they're wrong.

1. Immutable workspace.current_dir: The workspace.current_dir field is set once at session creation and never updated. This value is passed to the statusline command, tools, and likely influences file

resolution. There is no /cd command or mechanism to update it mid-session or on resume.

1. Cascading impact: Because workspace.current_dir can't change, even if resume worked across directories, the session would still reference the old directory — the statusline would show the wrong info,

and relative path resolution could break.

Impact

• Lost work: Users who accidentally launch from the wrong directory face a choice: continue with a broken statusline/workspace, or abandon the session (potentially hours of context).
• No recovery path: There's no claude --resume <id> --cwd <new-dir> or similar mechanism to relocate a session. Going back to the original directory works, but then you're stuck with the wrong workspace

config.

• Misleading diagnostics: The error message actively misleads. A user with a valid session ID is told it's "invalid or expired." When they ask Claude Code for help, it reinforces the false diagnosis.

This erodes trust.

• Silent failure at launch: Nothing warns the user at session start that they're in a non-ideal directory. By the time they notice (via statusline), they may have hours of context built up.

Suggested Fixes

P0 — Fix the error message:

• When a session ID exists but belongs to a different directory, say so: "Session was created in ~/code — run claude --resume <id> from that directory."
• This is a one-line fix in the session lookup error handling and eliminates the most frustrating part of the bug.

P1 — Allow cross-directory resume:

• claude --resume <session-id> should work from any directory. The session ID is globally unique — directory scoping should be a filter for the picker, not a hard gate on resume-by-ID.
• The interactive picker could …

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