[BUG] SSH remote via Claude for Windows: session message content shows "No messages yet" after Desktop restart — titles/metadata intact, .jsonl files intact on remote

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?

After restarting Claude for Windows (killing all processes on the host), SSH remote sessions remain listed in the Recents sidebar with their correct titles — but opening any of them shows "No messages yet." The remote container is left running throughout; it is not restarted. The underlying .jsonl conversation files on the remote are intact and contain full content.

The sessions/ directory ($CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/sessions/) functions as a live process registry — one JSON file per running claude process, written at session start:

{"pid":2412,"sessionId":"6d6fcb59-...","cwd":"C:\\git\\rip4","startedAt":1778677274221,"version":"2.1.138","peerProtocol":1,"kind":"interactive","entrypoint":"claude-desktop"}
When Claude Desktop quits, the SSH connections drop and the remote claude processes exit, removing their entries from sessions/. On reconnect, the Desktop starts new sessions — only those appear with content. All previous sessions show "No messages yet."

Related Issues
#34324 — same "No messages yet" symptom, SSH remote, Desktop v1.1.6679 (closed as duplicate)
#54187 — same symptom, local sessions, Desktop v1.4758.0 (closed as duplicate)
#29220 — previous sessions not visible after restart, local (closed as duplicate)

What Should Happen?

Opening a previous SSH session in the Recents sidebar should load its message content from the corresponding .jsonl file in $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/projects/<project>/, regardless of whether the originating claude process is still registered in sessions/.

Error Messages/Logs

No error is shown. The session opens silently with "No messages yet." in the message area. The session title and project name are correct.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Configure Claude Desktop with an SSH remote host; set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR to a persisted location on the remote
2. Connect and start one or more sessions — Recents shows correct titles, message content loads correctly
3. Quit Claude Desktop completely (End Task all host processes) — do not restart the remote container
4. Restart Claude Desktop and reconnect to the same SSH host
5. Click any session from step 2 in the Recents sidebar
6. Result: Title and project name are correct, message area shows "No messages yet."

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.139 (on remote)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Running in Claude for Windows version 1.7196.0