[BUG] [VS Code] Session list shows no status for sessions open in the sidebar

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?

The session list shows each session's status (running, idle, waiting for input), but only when the session is open in an editor tab (panel). When a session is open in the sidebar, its entry in the session list shows no status at all.

Status indicators already exist in the session list, and whether you see them depends only on the claudeCode.preferredLocation setting. With "panel" the status shows. With "sidebar" it doesn't.

What Should Happen?

The session's status should show in the session list whether the session is running on an editor tab (claudeCode.preferredLocation: panel) or a sidebar (claudeCode.preferredLocation: sidebar)

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. In settings.json, set "claudeCode.preferredLocation": "panel".
2. Open a session from the session list. It opens in an editor tab.
3. Start a task in that session and watch its entry in the session list.

• The status updates (running → idle / waiting for input).

1. Change the setting to "claudeCode.preferredLocation": "sidebar".
2. Open a session from the session list. It opens in the sidebar.
3. Start a task in that session and watch its entry in the session list.

• There is no status on the session.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.269

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Why it matters

The sidebar is a common place to keep a long-running session while you work in editor tabs, and those are the sessions you most need to glance at. Without their status you have to switch to the sidebar to see whether a session has finished or is waiting on you.

Related

• #78595: feature request for status indicators in the session list. It was filed when the list had no status at all. Indicators have since shipped for sessions opened in the panel, and this issue covers the sidebar sessions they missed.
• #67419, #77712: earlier reports that opening a session from the list ignored preferredLocation: sidebar. In the version above, the setting is honoured. The session opens in the sidebar, but it gets no status in the list.