CLAUDE.md not auto-loaded in desktop app "Code" tab session, but loaded correctly via standalone terminal CLI (same UNC path, same file)

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?

Related to #64518 (closed as stale/not-planned, not actually resolved) — but this report adds a new distinction between the desktop app's "Code" tab and the standalone terminal CLI.

When running Claude Code inside the desktop app's "Code" tab, a CLAUDE.md file present at the root of the working directory (a UNC network path, e.g. \\<host>\share\<vault>) is not automatically loaded into context at session start. No discovery/read step for CLAUDE.md is visible, and instructions in it are not followed until the file is manually read by the model.

When running the exact same CLAUDE.md file via the standalone terminal claude CLI, from the same directory, it loads correctly:

• Via a mapped drive letter (e.g. Z:\...): the file is silently preloaded before the first response (instructions are followed on the very first message, no visible read step).
• Via the raw UNC path directly in the terminal: a visible "Finding CLAUDE.md" step runs on the first message, reads the file, and instructions are then followed correctly.

So the same file, same UNC path, is loaded correctly in both terminal modes, but not in the desktop app's Code tab session, using the identical path. This suggests #64518's underlying bug may have been partially fixed at the CLI/binary level (UNC ancestor-walk now works, just via an on-demand step instead of a silent preload), but the fix did not propagate to the desktop app's Code tab session type.

What Should Happen?

CLAUDE.md should be auto-loaded consistently regardless of whether the session runs in the desktop app's Code tab or the standalone terminal CLI, for the same working directory path.

Error Messages/Logs

No error or warning is shown - memory simply isn't loaded in the Code tab session (silent failure). /context in the affected Code tab session shows no distinct CLAUDE.md/project-instructions category at all (only System prompt, System tools, MCP tools, Custom agents, Memory files, Skills) even when a CLAUDE.md file is present and later manually read.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create CLAUDE.md at the root of a directory on a network share, with content such as:

"Reply to every message with only the word MOEPMOEP, no other text."

1. Start a Code tab session in the desktop app with that UNC path as the working directory. Send "hello".

Expected: reply is "MOEPMOEP". Actual: normal reply, no CLAUDE.md discovery step observed, file not followed.

1. Open a standalone terminal, cd into the same directory via a mapped drive letter (e.g. Z:\...), run claude, send "hello".

Result: replies "MOEPMOEP" correctly, no visible read step (silently preloaded).

1. Open a standalone terminal, cd into the same directory via the raw UNC path (\\<host>\share\...), run claude, send "hello".

Result: a visible "Finding CLAUDE.md" step runs, then replies "MOEPMOEP" correctly.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.284 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Also reproduced on Claude Code v2.1.280. Working directory is not a git repository. /context in the affected Code tab session lists categories: System prompt, System tools, MCP tools, Custom agents, Memory files, Skills — no CLAUDE.md/project category at all.