VS Code extension: allow opening existing conversations in the native panel regardless of their working directory

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single feature request
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

Type: Feature request (with one bug-shaped edge)
Surface: VS Code extension (anthropic.claude-code), observed on 2.1.236/2.1.237, Windows 11 (win32-x64)

Problem

The native editor panel can only surface conversations that belong to the window's first workspace folder. A conversation whose working directory is anywhere else — another folder on disk, or even another folder of the same multi-root workspace — cannot be opened in the panel at all.

This is limiting for anyone who runs Claude Code sessions outside the panel (plain terminals, tmux/psmux-hosted persistent sessions, SSH) and wants to view/continue them in the native UI: those sessions legitimately live in arbitrary directories, but the panel refuses to know about them.

The bug-shaped edge

claude-vscode.editor.open(sessionId, initialPrompt, viewColumn) invoked with a session id that is real (transcript exists under ~/.claude/projects/) but rooted outside the first workspace folder does not error — it silently starts a brand-new conversation rooted at the first workspace folder. From the user's side this is very confusing: the tab looks related to what they clicked, has no history, and answers with the wrong working directory. A rejected promise (or opening the conversation read-only) would both be better than silently minting an unrelated conversation.

Requests, in preference order

1. Let editor.open (and the panel's own conversation list) open any existing conversation by session id, regardless of its cwd — the transcript on disk already carries everything needed.
2. Failing that: make editor.open reject unknown/out-of-scope ids instead of silently creating a new conversation, so callers can fall back gracefully.
3. Honor all folders of a multi-root workspace, not just index 0 (family of existing reports: #87827, #76116, #62718).

Related

#82736 asks for the complement (choosing a cwd for new panel sessions). This issue is about existing conversations. Together they would make the panel usable as a front-end for sessions that don't originate in it.

🤖 Drafted with Claude Code on the user's behalf