[FEATURE] Keyboard shortcut / command for Session History in VSCode extension

Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Apr 24, 2026 by vengekoe Closed May 28, 2026

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
  • [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

In the Claude Code VSCode extension, the Session History panel (clock icon, top-right of the Claude Code view) can only be opened by clicking the icon with the mouse. There is no corresponding VSCode command exposed in the Command Palette, so users cannot bind a keyboard shortcut to it via keybindings.json either.

This slows down a very common action — switching between recent local/web sessions — especially for keyboard-driven workflows where everything else (New Session, Focus View, Open in New Tab, etc.) is already available as a command.

Expected: expose a command such as claude-code.showSessionHistory (or similar) in the Command Palette so users can either trigger it directly or bind it to a custom keyboard shortcut.

Proposed Solution

Expose the Session History panel as a first-class VSCode command so it behaves like the other Claude Code actions already in the Command Palette (e.g. "Claude Code: Focus on Claude Code View", "Claude Code: Open in New Tab").

Ideal UX:

  1. A new command registered in the Command Palette, e.g.:
  • Claude Code: Show Session History
  • command id: claude-code.showSessionHistory
  1. Running the command opens the same dropdown that currently appears when clicking the clock icon, with the Local / Web tabs and the search box focused.
  1. Because it's a real command, users can bind any shortcut they want in keybindings.json, for example:

{
"key": "cmd+shift+h",
"command": "claude-code.showSessionHistory",
"when": "focusedView == 'claude-code.view' || editorTextFocus"
}

  1. Optionally ship a sensible default keybinding (e.g. Cmd+Shift+H / Ctrl+Shift+H) that users can override.
  1. Running the command a second time (or pressing Escape) closes the dropdown, matching the click-toggle behavior of the icon.

This keeps the feature consistent with the rest of the extension's command surface and unblocks keyboard-driven workflows without any UI change.

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

This issue has 2 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗