Desktop app: last-used folder permanently pinned to new sessions with no way to remove it

Summary

Every new session in the Claude Code desktop app automatically inherits the last-used working directory as its primary folder. This folder appears as a tab with no × button, making it impossible to remove or replace it from within the UI.

Environment

• App version: 1.7196.3 (ca0c62) — 2026-05-16
• Claude Code CLI (inside app): 2.1.142
• OS: macOS 25.5.0 (Darwin)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open the Claude Code desktop app.
2. Work in any session that has a folder linked (e.g. HomeStuff).
3. Click New Session.
4. Observe that the previous session's folder appears immediately as a tab — no folder picker, no prompt, no confirmation.
5. Try to remove the folder: there is no × button on the auto-linked tab.
6. Add a second folder via the + button: the new folder gets an ×, but the inherited folder still has none and cannot be removed.

Expected Behavior

• "New Session" should either (a) start with no linked folder, or (b) present a folder picker so the user can choose or clear the starting directory.
• The auto-inherited folder should have an × button so the user can dismiss it, just like any manually added folder.

Actual Behavior

The last-used working directory is silently locked in as the session's primary cwd with no affordance to remove it. Any additional folders added via + show an ×, but the inherited base folder does not. The only workaround is to launch claude from a different directory in Terminal, which shifts the default for the next session.

Root Cause (observed)

The desktop app reads the cwd field from the most recently active session file in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-sessions/ and uses it as the default cwd for new sessions. There is no UI to override or clear this before the session starts.

Impact

Users who work across multiple unrelated projects are permanently "stuck" on their last-used project folder in every new session until they use the CLI workaround. This is especially confusing because the folder appears without any user action, and there is no visible way to remove it.