Claude Session Bridge for VS Code
Companion extension for the official Anthropic Claude Code extension. Safely back up local sessions and reopen them after signing into another Claude account. Your transcript files and credentials are never copied to an external service.
v0.3.2 — Requires VS Code 1.94+, local or remote Node.js extension host, and anthropic.claude-code. Not affiliated with Anthropic. Marketplace publisher: ElyesHkiri; Marketplace publishing requires an authorized PAT and a successful manual workflow.
Install
- Download
claude-session-bridge-vscode-0.3.2.vsix from the v0.3.2 GitHub beta release, or from a successful CI artifact before the release is available.
- In VS Code choose Extensions →
... → Install from VSIX....
- Open the exact project root used by the previous Claude Code conversation.
Or install locally with code --install-extension claude-session-bridge-vscode-0.3.2.vsix.
Find the status-bar shortcut
The VS Code status bar is the thin strip at the bottom of the editor window, usually with Claude handoff on the right. Click it to start the suggested-session workflow. During an unfinished handoff, it changes to Finish Claude handoff.
If the bar is hidden, use View → Appearance → Status Bar. If the shortcut still is not visible, check that v0.3.2 is installed and enabled, run Developer: Reload Window, or use the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) to start Claude Session Bridge: Quick Account Handoff instead. The status-bar shortcut is optional; the command is equivalent.
Fast handoff
- Finish the current Claude Code turn and close that chat. Open
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P → Claude Session Bridge: Quick Account Handoff, or click the Claude handoff status-bar item.
- Bridge proposes the most recently saved conversation in the current project. Confirm it is the correct conversation, or choose Choose Session to browse the searchable local history. The timestamp is a heuristic; Bridge cannot see Claude's active chat ID through the public VS Code API.
- Confirm that the original chat is closed. Bridge makes a private, byte-for-byte backup and records its SHA-256 digest locally.
- In the official Claude Code panel use Settings → Sign out (or
/logout if available) and sign into your second account. Do not delete ~/.claude.
- Use Finish Pending Handoff (or the status-bar item), confirm you signed in, and let Bridge request that Claude Code reopen the saved session by ID.
- Check that earlier messages appear and Claude can continue the previous task. Click History Restored only if confirmed. Otherwise choose Keep Pending and use Diagnose Session Recovery.
The saved handoff survives a VS Code reload. The private backup is retained even after successful confirmation.
Commands
Command (all prefixed Claude Session Bridge:) |
Purpose |
| Quick Account Handoff |
Suggest the latest local conversation, confirm, back up, guide sign-in and reopen |
| Hand Off Session to Another Account |
Start from an explicit searchable session picker |
| Finish Pending Handoff |
Continue after sign-in or a VS Code reload |
| Diagnose Session Recovery |
Check project, config, Claude Code installation, transcript/backup existence, and backup SHA-256 |
| Resume Local Session |
Ask Claude Code to reopen a selected session under the currently authenticated account |
| Back Up Local Session |
Save a private transcript backup without switching accounts |
| Switch Account Guide |
Show manual official Claude Code account-switching instructions |
Diagnostics and troubleshooting
Run Claude Session Bridge: Diagnose Session Recovery and inspect the Claude Session Bridge output channel. It shows safe operational statuses without prompt text, transcript contents, full local paths, tokens, or raw SHA-256 values. Checks include missing Claude Code extension, nonmatching project, changed configuration directory, missing source transcript, missing private backup, and failed backup-integrity verification.
If Claude Code itself exits with code 1 and says you must accept updated terms, launch its official CLI, review and accept the terms, then reload VS Code. The bridge doesn't automate acceptance or bypass sign-in. If Claude cannot reopen the original conversation, keep the pending record and backup instead of claiming success.
Limits and security
- No automatic sign-in or account change. Authentication belongs to Claude Code; the user signs out/in manually.
- No guaranteed active-chat detection. Latest saved transcript is a suggestion only, not the live tab's verified session ID.
- No automatic login-event listener or passive backup of all conversations. A backup runs only when the user initiates a handoff or chooses Back Up.
- No transcript rewrite or automatic restore into Claude's private storage. Claude Code must still resolve the local session in the selected workspace/configuration. Its native URI handler can open a blank chat if it cannot.
- A different
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, remote/WSL/container environment, project path, or Claude Code update may prevent a resume. Diagnostics reports these risks.
- Backup transcripts are sensitive local files (code, tool outputs, prompts). Store them on an encrypted device and never attach them to public issues.
- The tool does not transfer account entitlements, quotas, tokens, MCP credentials, or private server-side context. Previously compacted context remains summarized, not magically expanded.
Development
npm --prefix vscode-extension run check
npm --prefix vscode-extension run package:vsix
@vscode/vsce builds the VSIX with a version-independent filename. The GitHub Actions artifact contains the installable extension, which is not automatically Marketplace-published.
Marketplace publication follows the Codico-style GitHub Actions VSCE_PAT secret workflow, and is manual, not automatic. See the publisher and Actions-secret setup guide.
