[BUG] claude -p returns session_id but writes no transcript; immediate --resume fails (2.1.209 and 2.1.210, Linux)

Summary

claude -p completes successfully and returns a session_id, but writes no transcript for that session. An immediate claude -p --resume <session-id> fails with No conversation found with session ID.

This reproduces with both Claude Code 2.1.209 and 2.1.210 on Linux. It closely matches #40609, which was closed as stale without a confirmed fix.

Reproduction

From an existing trusted Git repository:

claude -p --output-format json 'Reply with exactly: test'

The command succeeds and returns test plus a session ID. For example:

"result":"test"
"session_id":"e8c7c4b7-673a-4221-b554-8628d1297e98"

No transcript or reference containing that ID exists afterward:

rg -l --hidden 'e8c7c4b7-673a-4221-b554-8628d1297e98' ~/.claude
find ~/.claude/projects -type f -name 'e8c7c4b7-673a-4221-b554-8628d1297e98.jsonl'

Both commands produce no output.

Immediate resume fails:

claude -p --output-format json \
  --resume e8c7c4b7-673a-4221-b554-8628d1297e98 \
  'Reply with exactly: resumed'

No conversation found with session ID: e8c7c4b7-673a-4221-b554-8628d1297e98

Additional isolation

• Reproduced on 2.1.210.
• Downgraded with claude install 2.1.209; the same minimal reproduction still failed.
• Restored 2.1.210 afterward.
• Reproduced with plain JSON output and with --json-schema structured output.
• Supplying a fresh UUID through --session-id does not create a transcript either.
• --no-session-persistence was not passed.
• Neither CLAUDE_CODE_SKIP_PROMPT_HISTORY nor any other CLAUDE_*/ANTHROPIC_* environment variable is set.
• No cleanupPeriodDays, session-persistence, or prompt-history override exists in the local Claude JSON configuration.
• Normal interactive Claude sessions on the same machine have persisted transcript files under ~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session-id>.jsonl.

Expected behavior

Print-mode sessions persist by default and can be resumed programmatically with claude -p --resume <session-id>. Only --no-session-persistence should disable this.

Actual behavior

Claude returns a session ID for a successfully completed print-mode invocation, but no corresponding on-disk session exists and the returned ID cannot be resumed.

Environment

• Claude Code: reproduced on 2.1.209 and 2.1.210, native installation
• OS: Fedora Linux 44 Workstation, x86_64
• Kernel: 7.0.13-200.fc44.x86_64
• Installation path: ~/.local/bin/claude
• Authentication: Claude subscription login