Desktop app: "Add a folder" prompt triggers logout, clears conversation/project list from UI (data confirmed intact on account via claude.ai web)

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?

While in an active conversation in the desktop app's Code tab, mid-task, the app unexpectedly showed an "Add a folder" prompt (never seen in months of prior use). The only option was "Open a folder." Clicking it immediately logged me out. After logging back in (via Google/Gmail), the desktop app's project/conversation list was completely empty — every prior conversation and folder was gone from the UI.

Checked Settings → Account → Active Sessions: the Desktop session shows Created and Updated both frozen at the exact moment of the incident (2026-09-08, 2:02 PM), and has not updated since, even after fully quitting the app, killing all Claude processes, and relaunching multiple times.

Critically, the data itself is not lost: signing into claude.ai in a browser (same account, separate session) shows the full, correct project/conversation list, including 2+ months of history on my main project. So this is a desktop-app-local display/sync failure, not backend data loss — but the desktop app currently cannot access it.

What Should Happen?

The "Add a folder"/"Open a folder" flow should not force a logout or clear the visible project list. If re-authentication does happen for some reason, the desktop app should resync with the account afterward and show the real, existing project/conversation list — not an empty one.

Error Messages/Logs

None displayed to the user at any point — the failure was silent (just an empty list after login), no error dialog or message shown.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have an active conversation in the desktop app's Code tab, mid-task (project open: a local folder, e.g. C:\Project\wyp).
2. Wait for/trigger the "Add a folder" prompt (appeared unprompted; exact trigger unknown — had not seen this prompt in months of regular use before this).
3. Click "Open a folder" (the only option presented).
4. Observe: app immediately logs out and returns to the default/sign-in screen.
5. Sign back in (Google/Gmail auth).
6. Observe: the project/conversation list in the desktop app sidebar is empty — no prior conversations or folders appear.
7. Quit the app fully, kill all Claude processes, relaunch — list remains empty.
8. Compare: sign into claude.ai in a browser with the same account — full project/conversation list appears correctly there.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Unknown exact version — last known-good session was immediately prior to 2026-09-08 ~2:02 PM local.

Claude Code Version

Desktop app version: 1.49585.0

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Account Settings → Active Sessions screenshot shows the Desktop session frozen at the incident timestamp, Chrome session current and working normally.
Organization ID consistent across both sessions (ruled out account-mismatch).
Local CLI config (~/.claude.json and backups) checked — only ever listed one project, not the source of the missing list, and unaffected.
Workaround in use: claude.ai web interface, same account, shows full history correctly.