VS Code extension: Local session list flashes then disappears; old sessions fail with "Remote Control session's history can't be opened here"

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?

What happened

After updating the Claude Code VS Code extension, all my previous sessions
disappeared from the extension's session list. I downgraded the extension
to the previous version, but the problem remains.

Details

• The session list under the "Local" tab appears for a split second and

then disappears (ends up showing "No sessions yet").

• The "Web" tab shows only 4 sessions.
• When I try to open an old session from the extension, I get the error:

"This Remote Control session's history can't be opened here. Continue it
on claude.ai, or in the terminal, editor or app where it was started."

• ALL of my sessions were started from the VS Code extension itself, never

from claude.ai, the mobile app, or a remote session. So the
"Remote Control" classification appears to be wrong.

The data is intact

• ~/.claude/projects/ contains the project folder with 59 .jsonl session files.
• Running claude --resume in the integrated terminal from the project folder

lists all sessions, and opening one by ID works (full history is shown).

• So the session files are fine; only the extension's list/loading is broken.

Other notes

• Windows. My Windows username is in Hebrew, so the project folder name

contains dashes in place of the Hebrew characters
(e.g. c--Users---------Desktop-my-aios). This may be related to how the
extension matches sessions to the workspace folder.

• The CLI and the extension are on the same version.
• One resumed session showed: "Session model claude-opus-5 could not be

restored (not a model this version of Claude Code recognizes)".

• CLI shows "Auto-update failed".

Expected behavior

Sessions started in the extension should remain visible under "Local"
and open normally in the chat panel after an update.

Environment

• OS: Windows
• VS Code version: 1.139.1
• Claude Code extension version: Version 2.1.284
• CLI version: 2.1.284

<img width="670" height="97" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7e7fc730-eb5f-4a41-8edc-4b1a100a4431" />

<img width="383" height="481" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/92f5625c-10ed-4bb9-9cec-682f84eac1ef" />

What Should Happen?

Sessions that were started in the VS Code extension should stay visible under the "Local" tab after an extension update, and should open normally in the chat panel with their full history. The list should not disappear after loading, and sessions started from the extension should not be classified as "Remote Control" sessions.

Error Messages/Logs

This Remote Control session's history can't be opened here. Continue it on claude.ai, or in the terminal, editor or app where it was started.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On Windows, use the Claude Code VS Code extension and create several sessions in one workspace folder (in my case the folder is on the Desktop, and my Windows username contains Hebrew characters, so the folder under ~/.claude/projects/ is named like c--Users---------Desktop-my-aios).
2. Update the Claude Code extension to the latest version (I also tried rolling back to the previous version, with the same result).
3. Reload the VS Code window and open the Claude Code panel.
4. In Session Manager, select the "Local" tab.
5. Result: the list of sessions appears for a split second, then disappears and shows "No sessions yet".
6. Select the "Web" tab: only 4 sessions are shown, not all of them.
7. Try to open an old session from the extension (for example via /resume in the chat panel). Result: the error "This Remote Control session's history can't be opened here. Continue it on claude.ai, or in the terminal, editor or app where it was started." All of these sessions were started from the VS Code extension itself.
8. For comparison, open the integrated terminal in the same workspace folder and run: claude --resume
9. Result: all sessions are listed (59 .jsonl files exist in ~/.claude/projects/<project-folder>), and selecting one opens it with its full history. So the data is intact and only the extension's list/loading is broken.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

2.1.283

Claude Code Version

2.1.284

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Additional context:

• OS: Windows. My Windows username contains Hebrew characters, so the project folder under ~/.claude/projects/ is named c--Users---------Desktop-my-aios (Hebrew characters replaced with dashes). There are two other similar-looking folders, c--Users---------Desktop------------ (3 sessions) and c--Users---------Desktop---------------- (0 sessions). I suspect the extension may be failing to match the workspace folder to the session folder because of the non-ASCII username, but this is only a guess.
• The extension and CLI are on the same version. The CLI also shows "Auto-update failed".
• Rolling back the extension to the previous version did not fix it.
• When resuming one old session in the terminal, I got: "Session model claude-opus-5 could not be restored (not a model this version of Claude Code recognizes) - using opus instead."
• The session data itself is intact: 59 .jsonl files in ~/.claude/projects/c--Users---------Desktop-my-aios, all readable via claude --resume in the integrated terminal.