[BUG] '- c' flag silently starts new session when no prior session resolves instead of erroring

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?

When \claude - c\ is passed but no prior session can be found — or the flag is mistyped (e.g. \claude - c\ with a space) — Claude Code silently starts a new session. The user has no indication anything went wrong.\n\n## Expected behavior\n\nExit with a clear error: \error: --continue specified but no previous session found\.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nSilent fallback to a new session causes data loss (the user loses their conversation context) with no warning.

What Should Happen?

Claude should create an error for unknown flag, i.e. "- c". and ask to confirm.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

claude - c

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.212 (claude code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

I shouldn't have to use github. my claude should be able to directly report to you the issues I flag.