[BUG] /clear does not preserve previous session for /resume, contradicting in-app description

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 in-app description of /clear explicitly states:

"/clear - Start a new session with empty context; previous session stays on disk (resumable with /resume)"

In practice, the previous session is not resumable. After running /clear, the pre-clear conversation does not appear in /resume and cannot be recovered.

What Should Happen?

Per the in-app description, the cleared session should remain on disk and appear in /resume. The conversation history from before /clear should be accessible and resumable.

Error Messages/Logs

No error message. The /clear command executes successfully, but the pre-clear session silently disappears from /resume with no warning.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start a Claude Code session: claude
2. Have a conversation (ask a few questions, get responses)
3. Run /clear to start a new session
4. Exit Claude Code
5. Restart Claude Code and run /resume
6. Observe: the pre-clear conversation is not listed and cannot be selected

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Prior to v2.1.128

Claude Code Version

v2.1.132

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Related Issues:

• #32871 — /clear creates a new session rather than clearing in-place; likely root cause
• #38158 — author requests this as a feature, but per the in-app description it is intended behavior that is broken

The behavior described in the in-app help suggests /clear should work like git stash — reset working state but preserve history. Currently it behaves more like deleting the branch.