[BUG] Claude Code — Session Management after Unexpected Interruption

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?

Bug reported in the way suggested directly from Claude

Bug Report: Claude Code — Session Management after Unexpected Interruption

Reported by: Giorgio (macOS, Apple Silicon — Mac Mini)
Date: May 2026

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Summary

After an unexpected power outage, Claude Code v2.0.47 entered a permanently broken state, displaying the message Interrupted · What should Claude do instead? on every launch. No recovery action — including full deletion of configuration directories — was able to resolve the issue. A complete uninstall and reinstall was required.

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Environment

• OS: macOS (Apple Silicon, Mac Mini)
• Claude Code version affected: 2.0.47
• Claude Code version after reinstall: 2.1.145
• Installation method: Homebrew (brew install claude-code)
• IDE: IntelliJ IDEA

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Steps to Reproduce

1. Claude Code was running inside IntelliJ IDEA integrated terminal.
2. An unexpected power outage interrupted the session mid-execution.
3. After rebooting, launching claude from the project directory immediately showed:

Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?

1. No input was accepted. The prompt was completely unresponsive to any text.

---

Recovery Attempts (All Failed)

1. Typing commands at the prompt

Tried: continue, stop, Ctrl+C, pressing Enter. No effect.

2. Launching with --resume flag

claude --resume

Showed two sessions in the resume menu:

• "ciao" — 2 minutes ago
• "User Interrupted Directory Check" — 3 minutes ago (the broken session)

Selecting the non-broken session still resulted in the same Interrupted message.

3. Deleting ~/.claude directory

rm -rf ~/.claude

No effect. The broken state persisted after full deletion of the config directory.

4. Deleting project-level .claude directory

Deleted the .claude folder inside the project root. No effect.

5. Searching for session files in macOS Library

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude*
ls ~/Library/Caches/Claude*
find ~ -name "*2026-feb-batch*" 2>/dev/null

No files found. Session state was being persisted in an unknown location.

6. Launching from a different directory

cd /tmp && claude

Same broken state persisted regardless of working directory.

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Resolution

A complete uninstall and reinstall via Homebrew resolved the issue:

brew uninstall claude-code
rm -rf ~/.claude
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude*
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Claude*
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/*claude*
brew install claude-code

After reinstall, Claude Code v2.1.145 launched correctly.

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Root Cause Analysis

The session state appears to be persisted in a location outside of ~/.claude and ~/Library, likely inside the npm/Homebrew installation directory itself or in a non-standard path. This means that deleting ~/.claude — which users would reasonably expect to be a full reset — does not actually clear a broken session state.

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Suggestions

1. Add a --reset or --clear-session flag that fully wipes all session state from all locations.
2. Document where session state is stored on each platform (macOS, Linux, Windows/WSL).
3. When an Interrupted session is detected at startup, offer a visible option to discard it entirely rather than only resume.
4. Ensure that deleting ~/.claude is a complete reset — either store all state there, or print a warning pointing to additional state locations.

What Should Happen?

Claude should resume working session without fails

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Bug Report: Claude Code — Session Management after Unexpected Interruption

Reported by: Giorgio (macOS, Apple Silicon — Mac Mini)
Date: May 2026

---

Summary

After an unexpected power outage, Claude Code v2.0.47 entered a permanently broken state, displaying the message Interrupted · What should Claude do instead? on every launch. No recovery action — including full deletion of configuration directories — was able to resolve the issue. A complete uninstall and reinstall was required.

---

Environment

• OS: macOS (Apple Silicon, Mac Mini)
• Claude Code version affected: 2.0.47
• Claude Code version after reinstall: 2.1.145
• Installation method: Homebrew (brew install claude-code)
• IDE: IntelliJ IDEA

---

Steps to Reproduce

1. Claude Code was running inside IntelliJ IDEA integrated terminal.
2. An unexpected power outage interrupted the session mid-execution.
3. After rebooting, launching claude from the project directory immediately showed:

Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?

1. No input was accepted. The prompt was completely unresponsive to any text.

---

Recovery Attempts (All Failed)

1. Typing commands at the prompt

Tried: continue, stop, Ctrl+C, pressing Enter. No effect.

2. Launching with --resume flag

claude --resume

Showed two sessions in the resume menu:

• "ciao" — 2 minutes ago
• "User Interrupted Directory Check" — 3 minutes ago (the broken session)

Selecting the non-broken session still resulted in the same Interrupted message.

3. Deleting ~/.claude directory

rm -rf ~/.claude

No effect. The broken state persisted after full deletion of the config directory.

4. Deleting project-level .claude directory

Deleted the .claude folder inside the project root. No effect.

5. Searching for session files in macOS Library

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude*
ls ~/Library/Caches/Claude*
find ~ -name "*2026-feb-batch*" 2>/dev/null

No files found. Session state was being persisted in an unknown location.

6. Launching from a different directory

cd /tmp && claude

Same broken state persisted regardless of working directory.

---

Resolution

A complete uninstall and reinstall via Homebrew resolved the issue:

brew uninstall claude-code
rm -rf ~/.claude
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude*
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Claude*
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/*claude*
brew install claude-code

After reinstall, Claude Code v2.1.145 launched correctly.

---

Root Cause Analysis

The session state appears to be persisted in a location outside of ~/.claude and ~/Library, likely inside the npm/Homebrew installation directory itself or in a non-standard path. This means that deleting ~/.claude — which users would reasonably expect to be a full reset — does not actually clear a broken session state.

---

Suggestions

1. Add a --reset or --clear-session flag that fully wipes all session state from all locations.
2. Document where session state is stored on each platform (macOS, Linux, Windows/WSL).
3. When an Interrupted session is detected at startup, offer a visible option to discard it entirely rather than only resume.
4. Ensure that deleting ~/.claude is a complete reset — either store all state there, or print a warning pointing to additional state locations.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.0.47

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_