[BUG] Windows desktop: "Enable remote control by default" causes every session to appear twice in sidebar (local + claude.ai duplicate)

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?

In the Claude Code Windows desktop app, toggling Settings → Claude Code → Enable remote control by default to ON causes every interactive session to appear as two distinct entries in the left sidebar:

The local desktop session
A second entry representing the same session as exposed through claude.ai/code via Remote Control

Both entries point to the same underlying session — clicking either one opens the same conversation — but the sidebar treats them as separate items. With several sessions open, the sidebar gets visually cluttered and it's no longer clear which entry to click. Toggling the setting back to OFF and restarting the app removes the duplicates.
This looks related to #48949 (desktop app handles remoteControlAtStartup separately from the CLI) and #48238 (other v2.1.108 sidebar regressions on Windows desktop). It may share a root cause with #50376 (duplicate sidebar entries pointing to the same underlying session, different trigger).

What Should Happen?

Each session should appear exactly once in the sidebar, regardless of whether Remote Control is enabled. The fact that a session is also reachable from claude.ai/code is a property of that session, not a separate sidebar item — it should be indicated with a badge or icon on the single entry, similar to how Dispatch-spawned sessions show a Dispatch badge.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Open the Claude Code desktop app on Windows.
Go to Settings → Claude Code → Enable remote control by default and turn it ON.
Start a new session, or restart the app with existing sessions.
Observe the left sidebar — each session is listed twice.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude for Windows - 1.7196.3 (ca0c62) 2026-05-16T23:42:08.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

_No response_