[BUG] Desktop app "Code" section shows GitHub default branch instead of active working branch

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened May 8, 2026 by phantomski77 Closed May 12, 2026

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?

The Claude Desktop app's "Code" section displays the GitHub repo's
default branch (configured in repo Settings → Branches), not the
branch the user is currently working on. The default branch is repo
metadata, not a per-session signal — showing it implies a relevance
it doesn't have.

What Should Happen?

Show the active branch — e.g. (a) the HEAD of the locally connected
directory, (b) the branch most recently committed to in this Code
session, or (c) let the user pin a different branch as the displayed
branch.

Why it matters

Multi-branch workflows are common: long-lived feature branches,
branch-per-environment monorepos, or repos where main is intentionally
abandoned. In all those cases the default branch is permanently
divergent from where work actually happens, so the Code section
displays misleading information.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Set up a repo where main is stale and active development happens

on another long-lived branch (e.g. FullStack).

  1. Open the repo in Claude Desktop's Code section.
  2. Observe that the displayed branch is main, even though all

sessions and commits land on FullStack.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.133

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

iTerm2

Additional Information

_No response_

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