[BUG] VSCode: Claude Code sessions stay unread because they're only marked read when opened in the (decoupled) chat tab

Summary

When using Claude Code (the terminal/CLI agent) in VS Code, AI sessions that I actively worked in keep showing up as unread in the AI sessions list, and the unread count grows large (143 in my case).

The unread badge itself does work — it decrements when I open a session. The problem is how a session gets marked as read: a session is only marked read when it is opened in the chat tab, and that chat tab is currently not coupled with Claude Code. So sessions I started/worked in via the Claude Code terminal are never marked as read through that flow, even though I have effectively "read" them while working in Claude Code.

The result is a large backlog of unread sessions that I cannot clear in a natural way.

Expected behavior

• Working in / reading a session via Claude Code (terminal-coupled) should mark it as read, OR
• There should be a way to mark Claude Code sessions as read (e.g. "mark all as read"), without having to re-open each one in the decoupled chat tab.

Actual behavior

• The unread badge clears only when a session is opened in the chat tab.
• The chat tab is not coupled with Claude Code, so Claude Code sessions stay unread.
• Unread count accumulates (currently 143).

Environment

• Claude Code: 2.1.185
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise (10.0.26200)
• VS Code extension (Claude Code)

Related

• #34054 (feature request for read/unread indicator, closed as not planned)