Chat search omits Code chats currently open in other windows; no body-text index for Code chats
Environment
- Claude Desktop v2.1.119 (entrypoint
claude-desktop) - OS: Windows 11
Issue 1: Code chats open in another Desktop window are excluded from search
The chat search dialog does not return a Claude Code chat when that chat is currently displayed in another Claude Desktop window/tab, even when searching for an exact unique string present in the chat title from a different window.
Reproduction
- Open Code chat A in window 1; its title contains a unique alphanumeric token (e.g.
TICKET-A) - Open a different Code chat in window 2
- From window 2, open chat search (Ctrl/Cmd+K) and query the unique token from chat A's title
- Expected: chat A appears as a top result
- Actual: chat A is absent; only unrelated fuzzy / Claude.ai cloud results are returned
Verified locally
- Title is correctly persisted to
~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/<sessionId>.jsonlas multiplecustom-titleevents - A control chat whose title contains
TICKET-B(not open in any other window) is returned correctly by its title query - Two independent reproductions on same machine: one chat held by an active
claude-desktoppid in~/.claude/sessions/, and one chat without an active pidfile but visible in another Desktop window — both excluded from search
The "open in another window" criterion is broader than the presence of a pidfile in ~/.claude/sessions/, since one of the reproductions had no pidfile but was visible in a Desktop window.
Issue 2: No body-text search for Code chats
The chat search dialog appears to index Code chats by title only. Body-text queries return only Claude.ai cloud chats containing the term, never Code chats containing it.
Reproduction
- Have a Code chat with the phrase
Hi <name>in the body (title does not contain<name>) - Search
<name>from any window - Result: only Claude.ai cloud chats with
<name>are returned. The Code chat with<name>in body is not returned, even when not held open in another window.
Suggestion
Either add full-text body indexing for local Code chats, or document the title-only scope explicitly in the search UI / docs.
Workaround
Close the Desktop window holding the target chat, then search again — or fully restart Claude Desktop so all ~/.claude/sessions/*.json pidfiles clear.
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