[FEATURE] Named Sessions for `--resume`

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

Feature Request: Named Sessions for --resume

Summary

Allow users to name Claude Code sessions and resume them by name instead of session ID.

Current Behaviour

claude --resume 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Session IDs are opaque UUIDs — impossible to remember across terminal sessions or days.

Proposed Behaviour

# Name a session on start
claude --session-name "payments-debug"

# Resume by name
claude --resume "payments-debug"

# Fuzzy match on partial name
claude --resume "payments"

# List all sessions with names, IDs, and timestamps
claude --sessions

Why This Matters

Session IDs are for machines. Names are for humans. When context-switching across multiple workstreams — debugging, refactoring, feature work — developers need to re-enter the right session quickly without hunting through terminal history for a UUID.

This is the same UX principle behind:

  • tmux attach -t my-session
  • git checkout my-branch
  • Docker's auto-generated memorable container names

Suggested Details

  • Names stored alongside session metadata
  • Fuzzy match so partial names resolve to closest session
  • Auto-generate memorable names (e.g. autumn-forest-42) when no name supplied — so every session is nameable even retroactively
  • --sessions flag to list all sessions with name, ID, last active timestamp, and working directory

Impact

Low implementation complexity. High daily-use value for anyone running multiple concurrent Claude Code sessions across projects.

Proposed Solution

Suggested Details

  • Names stored alongside session metadata
  • Fuzzy match so partial names resolve to closest session
  • Auto-generate memorable names (e.g. autumn-forest-42) when no name supplied — so every session is nameable even retroactively
  • --sessions flag to list all sessions with name, ID, last active timestamp, and working directory

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_

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