Chats/Projects sidebar section disappears after updating to 2.2553.1 (Windows)

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?

Description:

After the desktop app auto-updated to version 2.2553.1 on 2026-09-18, the entire "Chats and Projects" section vanished from the left sidebar on that device. Only the "Code" tab remains visible (New / Artifacts / Routines / Customize), showing an empty session list. All previously pinned Projects and chat history became completely inaccessible from the UI — not archived, not hidden behind a collapsed section, just gone from navigation entirely.

Comparison with a second device (same account, not yet updated):
A second computer signed into the same account, still running the pre-2.2553.1 version (shows a "Relaunch to update v2.2553.1" banner, not yet applied), displays the normal full interface: New / Projects / Artifacts / Scheduled / Customize / More, with pinned Projects and a complete, correct chat/task history list spanning weeks. This strongly suggests the issue is a client-side regression introduced in 2.2553.1, not server-side data loss — the account's actual data is intact and reachable from a device on the older version.

Steps to reproduce (as far as I can tell):

Have an account with existing Projects/chat history.
Let the app auto-update to 2.2553.1.
Observe: the Chats/Projects sidebar section is gone; only Code tab remains.

Environment:

OS: Windows 11 Home Single Language, build 10.0.26200
App version: 2.2553.1 (updated from an earlier version on 2026-09-18)
A second device on this account remains on the pre-update version and is unaffected

Troubleshooting already tried on the affected device (no effect):

Log out / log back in
Full computer restart

Note: Have not yet uninstalled/reinstalled, holding off since that generates a new local device ID and might complicate diagnosis — happy to try if a maintainer suggests it's safe/useful.

What Should Happen?

After updating to app version 2.2553.1, the "Chats and Projects" section should still appear in the left sidebar, and all previously existing Projects (e.g. a pinned "Venus企服公司" project) and chat history should remain visible and accessible — the same as they are on another device signed into the same account that has not yet updated to this version.

Error Messages/Logs

No error/crash — this is a UI navigation issue (missing sidebar section), not a script error.

### Steps to Reproduce

1. On a device where the account has existing Projects/chat history, let the Claude desktop app auto-update to version 2.2553.1.
2. Open the app after the update.
3. Observe: the "Chats and Projects" section is missing from the left sidebar entirely. Only the "Code" tab remains, with an empty session list.
4. Compare with a second device on the same account that has not yet updated (still on the pre-2.2553.1 version) — that device shows the full sidebar (Projects/Artifacts/Scheduled/Customize) with all Projects and chat history intact.

### Claude Model

None

### Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

### Last Working Version

pre-2.2553.1

### Claude Code Version

1.0.123 (Claude Code)

### Platform

Anthropic API

### Operating System

Windows

### Terminal/Shell

Other

### Additional Information

_No response_