[BUG] VSCode Extension - Chat history dropdown completely absent from panel header

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

The chat history dropdown is completely missing from the Claude Code VSCode extension panel header. There is no dropdown arrow or clickable element to access past conversations — just the conversation title as a flat tab with an X to close.

This differs from other reported issues (#18619, #11490, #22215) where the dropdown exists but shows empty. In this case, the UI element itself is absent. Using Same version as yesterday, worked yesterday not today. I updated to the release that just came out for VSCode but, same symptoms.

Environment

• OS: Amazon Linux 2023 (EC2)
• VSCode: Remote SSH connection
• Claude Code Extension: Latest (no update available)
• Sessions on disk: 20 .jsonl files in ~/.claude/projects/ — sessions exist but no way to access them

Actual Failing Behavior

No dropdown control rendered. Only the conversation title tab with a close (X) button.

Note:
The /resume does work so I can see that there are lots of chats to choose from. But, anyway I use the dropdown every day. Just today it is MIA.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior

Dropdown arrow at top of Claude Code panel to browse/search past conversations.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open VSCode via Remote SSH
2. Open Claude Code panel (either inline or via Shift+Cmd+P → open in separate window — same result both ways)
3. Existing chat sessions are present on disk (confirmed via /resume which lists them all)
4. No dropdown arrow/element appears to browse past conversations

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

anthropic.claude-code-2.1.78-linux-x64

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_