Memory files and conversation history lost between sessions

Bug Description

Two related issues causing loss of context between Claude Code sessions:

1. Memory files disappear

Memory files written to ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ during a session are gone in subsequent sessions. A file (project_aidlc_rules_gaps.md) that was referenced and read during a prior session no longer exists — the entire memory directory is empty. The MEMORY.md index file also does not exist.

This means the auto-memory system cannot fulfill its purpose of persisting context across conversations.

2. claude --resume fails to find conversations

Multiple session IDs that were valid (conversation was active, session ID shown at exit) return "No conversation found" when attempting to resume:

claude --resume bce38980-8123-4482-8846-e55d8a0d212d
No conversation found with session ID: bce38980-8123-4482-8846-e55d8a0d212d

claude --resume 4a0d1c01-be0c-4055-8723-84c3fbda114d
No conversation found with session ID: 4a0d1c01-be0c-4055-8723-84c3fbda114d

claude --resume
No conversations found to resume.

Impact

User lost all context from a multi-hour dry-run session (5 construction units of an AI-DLC workshop). Had to manually re-explain the full context to a new session. Memory that was saved during the prior session was also lost, so even the persistent memory fallback failed.

Environment

• Claude Code v2.1.76 → v2.1.81 (upgraded between sessions)
• Model: Opus 4.6 (1M context)
• Platform: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
• Shell: zsh

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run a long Claude Code session that writes memory files to ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/
2. Session ends (crash, timeout, or manual exit)
3. Attempt claude --resume <session-id> — fails with "No conversation found"
4. Start new session — memory directory is empty, previously written files are gone

Expected Behavior

• Memory files written via the Write tool should persist on disk across sessions
• claude --resume <session-id> should find and resume the conversation
• At minimum, if resume fails, memory files should still exist as the fallback context mechanism

Possible Cause

Version upgrade from v2.1.76 to v2.1.81 may have wiped the conversation store and/or memory directory.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code