[BUG]

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?

UX Regression: App update obscures session recovery with no guidance

Summary

The recent Claude desktop app redesign introduced a significant UX regression for existing users: all prior Claude Code sessions appear missing after updating, with no in-app guidance on how to recover them. The entry point to Claude Code is an unlabeled </> icon with no tooltip, no onboarding prompt, and no documentation surfaced at the point of confusion.

Steps to reproduce

1. Have an existing Claude Code Desktop setup with active/archived sessions under a Max plan
2. Download and install the new version of the Claude desktop app
3. Open the app
4. Observe: no sessions visible, no indication that a </> icon is the gateway to Claude Code and your prior work

Expected behavior

• Existing sessions should be clearly surfaced after update, or
• The app should provide explicit migration/recovery guidance on first launch post-update, or
• At minimum, the </> icon should have a tooltip or label (e.g. "Claude Code") so users know where to look

Actual behavior

• Sessions appear lost
• The </> icon is the only entry point to Claude Code but is entirely unlabeled
• No in-app prompt, tooltip, or first-run guidance directs users to click it
• External documentation does not prominently address this post-update recovery scenario

Impact

For users on paid plans (Max, Pro, Team) who rely on Claude Code for ongoing work, this creates unnecessary alarm and erodes confidence in the platform at exactly the moment a successful update should be reinforcing it. The sessions are recoverable — but only if you happen to click an unlabeled icon and know what you're looking for.

Suggested fixes

• Add a label or tooltip to the </> icon identifying it as "Claude Code"
• Show a first-launch prompt after update pointing users to their existing sessions
• Add a post-update changelog or migration note within the app itself

Environment

• Plan: Max
• Platform: Mac OS 26.4.1
• App version: Claude 1.3561.0 (fbc74b) 2026-04-20T14:59:51.000Z

What Should Happen?

This sort of un-announced change should never happen. Anthropics' procedures should be reviewed, and a full and candid explanation of how this happened and what's being done to prevent recurrences should be publicised, and pushed to the model's own awareness. Explanations from the model ranged from vague to downright evasive,

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce

1. Have an existing Claude Code Desktop setup with active/archived sessions under a Max plan
2. Download and install the new version of the Claude desktop app
3. Open the app
4. Observe: no sessions visible, no indication that a </> icon is the gateway to Claude Code and your prior work

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

I can no longer tell, as the old version of Desktop appeared to vanish.

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.3561.0 (fbc74b) 2026-04-20T14:59:51.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

This unannounced change was a hard hit to my confidence, and in the current political environment Anthropic can ill afford to appear opaque or evasive.