[BUG] Code, Desktop, Session, Data Loss.

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?

My older sessions are present in the desktop sidebar, but however when I click on an older session the conversation history is missing.
I tried the web data export method but this only backs up the web chat and not the ClaudeCode desktop data. Claude. I've managed to find some similar threads where users are missing the sessions from the sidebar. However, I have the sessions, I just don't have the history.

Bug: Claude Code Desktop loses conversation history for older sessions

Environment

• App: Claude Code Desktop (Electron)
• Claude Code binary: 2.1.76
• OS: Windows 10 Pro 10.0.19045
• Data path: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude-code-sessions\

Description

Conversation history is silently lost for older Claude Code Desktop sessions. When viewing these sessions in the session list, the title and dates are visible, but opening them shows no conversation history. The session metadata JSON files show completedTurns: 0 despite the sessions having been actively used over multiple days.

Impact

• 25 out of 32 sessions have lost their conversation history
• Only the 7 most recent sessions (created from ~March 13 onward) retain their data
• All affected sessions created between February 4 and March 12 show completedTurns: 0
• Several of these were multi-day sessions with extensive work (e.g. one spanned 9 days, another 10 days)

Evidence

Sessions with history intact (all recent):

| Session | Turns | Created | Last Active |
|---------|-------|---------|-------------|
| Session A | 65 | 2026-03-16 | 2026-03-16 |
| Session B | 13 | 2026-03-17 | 2026-03-17 |
| Session C | 11 | 2026-03-17 | 2026-03-18 |
| Session D | 11 | 2026-03-18 | 2026-03-18 |
| Session E | 3 | 2026-03-13 | 2026-03-17 |
| Session F | 3 | 2026-02-07 | 2026-03-19 |
| Session G | 1 | 2026-03-19 | 2026-03-19 |

Examples of affected sessions (0 turns, data lost):

| Session | Created | Last Active | Duration |
|---------|---------|-------------|----------|
| Session H | 2026-03-04 | 2026-03-13 | 8.9 days |
| Session I | 2026-02-06 | 2026-02-16 | 9.9 days |
| Session J | 2026-02-18 | 2026-02-24 | 6.1 days |
| Session K | 2026-02-27 | 2026-03-03 | 3.9 days |
| Session L | 2026-02-24 | 2026-02-27 | 3.0 days |
| Session M | 2026-02-04 | 2026-03-17 | 40.9 days |
| Session N | 2026-02-05 | 2026-02-06 | 0.7 days |
| Session O | 2026-02-16 | 2026-02-17 | 1.1 days |
| Session P | 2026-02-25 | 2026-02-26 | 1.1 days |

Full list: 25 sessions affected, all with completedTurns: 0 in their metadata JSON.

Observations

1. The session metadata JSON files (in claude-code-sessions/) still exist with correct titles and timestamps, but completedTurns has been reset to 0
2. The lastActivityAt timestamps prove these sessions were actively used over extended periods
3. The IndexedDB (LevelDB) at %APPDATA%\Claude\IndexedDB\https_claude.ai_0.indexeddb.leveldb\ is only 256KB — far too small to contain 25 sessions' worth of conversation data
4. There appears to be a clear cutoff: sessions created before ~March 12 lost data, sessions after retained it
5. This may have occurred during an app update or automatic storage compaction

Expected Behavior

All session conversation history should be preserved and viewable, regardless of age.

Actual Behavior

Opening any session created before ~March 12 shows an empty conversation with no history, despite the session list showing the correct title and date range.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Code Desktop
2. Navigate to session history
3. Select any session created before March 12
4. Observe: no conversation messages are displayed

Additional Notes

• The Claude.ai web export (via account data download) only contains web browser conversations — Claude Code Desktop sessions are not included in the export, making this data loss unrecoverable
• There does not appear to be any way to export or back up Claude Code Desktop conversation history

What Should Happen?

Can someone please tell me how to fix it?

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Code Desktop
2. Navigate to session history
3. Select any session created before March 12
4. Observe: no conversation messages are displayed

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.1.7203

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

_No response_