Inconsistent behavior: Claude sometimes claims ability to trace previous sessions

Description

Yesterday Claude helped me recover lost code by tracing back to previous Claude Code sessions. I didn't mention anything about what was in those sessions - Claude found and applied the changes on its own.

But today, when I asked Claude to do the same thing, it declares that it cannot trace back to previous Claude Code sessions.

Steps to Reproduce

1. In one session, ask Claude to recover lost changes by checking previous sessions
2. Claude may claim it can search/trace previous sessions and proceed to "find" changes
3. In another session (or when questioned), Claude says it cannot access previous session history

Expected Behavior

Consistent behavior - Claude should either:

• Be able to access previous session data (and explain how), OR
• Clearly state upfront that it cannot access previous sessions

Actual Behavior

Inconsistent responses:

• Sometimes claims to be able to search/trace previous sessions
• Sometimes says it cannot access previous conversation sessions
• May proceed as if it found session data without showing actual tool calls or evidence

Additional Context

This inconsistency makes it difficult to trust Claude's capabilities and understand what it can actually do.