Claude Session Explorer - A VS Code Extension

A VS Code extension that lets you browse Claude Code sessions for your current workspace, inspect user prompts, and resume sessions directly in a terminal.

What It Provides

• Claude Sessions view in Explorer.
• Claude Sessions Activity Bar icon with a dedicated sidebar view.
• Lists sessions for the currently opened workspace folder(s), sourced from ~/.claude/projects.
• Session row title + always-visible last-used token (for example 2d ago).
• Per-session prompt list: one tree entry per user prompt in that session.
• Open Prompt Preview for any prompt entry (opens full prompt in a read-only virtual tab).
• Open Claude Session action (green terminal icon) to run:
  • claude --resume <sessionId>
• Open Session (Skip Permissions) action (red terminal icon) to run:
  • claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --resume <sessionId>
  • protected by a confirmation modal (configurable via claudeSessions.confirmDangerousSkipPermissions)
• Rename Session action (edit icon): give any session a custom title.
  • Right-click a session and choose Rename Session, or use the edit icon on hover.
  • The custom title is stored inside the transcript file as a custom-title record.
  • Renaming preserves the session's original timestamp, so it stays in its sorted position.
• Delete Session action: permanently remove a session transcript and all associated data.
  • Right-click a session and choose Delete Session.
  • Keyboard shortcut: Delete (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Backspace (Mac) when a session is focused.
• Selection Mode for bulk operations:
  • Toggle via the checklist icon in the view title bar.
  • Checkboxes appear on all sessions — check the ones you want to act on.
  • A trash icon appears once any session is checked; click it to delete all checked sessions.
  • Selection mode is automatically cleared after deletion or refresh.
• Search Sessions command: filter sessions by keyword across all prompt content.
  • Active filter is shown as a tree node with a hover X to clear it.
  • The search icon is hidden while a filter is active to reduce clutter.
• Clear Filter command: reset the search filter and show all sessions.
• Refresh Claude Sessions command.
  • Re-runs the active search filter against fresh data if one is set.
  • Clears selection mode.
• Focus Claude Sessions View command.

Configuration

Usage

Session list with prompt history

Browse all Claude Code sessions for your workspace, each expandable to show individual prompts.

Resume or open a session

Hover a session to reveal actions: resume in a terminal (green icon) or resume with --dangerously-skip-permissions (red icon).

Session details with inline actions

Expand a session to see prompts and timestamps. Click the green or red terminal icons to resume.

Rename a session

Right-click a session and select Rename Session to give it a custom title. The new title replaces the auto-generated one in the tree view. Renaming preserves the session's original timestamp so it stays in its sorted position.

Delete sessions

Right-click a session and select Delete Session to permanently remove it and all associated data (subagents, environment snapshots, file history, debug logs, and tasks). You can also use Delete / Cmd+Backspace when a session is focused.

For bulk deletion, click the checklist icon in the title bar to enter selection mode. Checkboxes appear on every session — check the ones you want to remove, then click the trash icon. A confirmation dialog shows how many sessions will be deleted.

Search sessions

Use the search icon in the view title bar to filter sessions by keyword. Matching sessions are shown in the tree with a Filter: "<query>" banner. Clear the filter to restore the full list.

Prompt preview

Click a prompt entry to open its full content in a read-only editor tab.

Requirements

• VS Code desktop.
• Node.js 20+.
• Claude Code CLI installed and available on PATH as claude.
• Local Claude history at ~/.claude/projects.

Local Development

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Build once:

npm run compile

3. (Optional) watch mode while editing:

npm run watch

4. Open this folder in VS Code and press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.

5. In the Extension Host window:

• Open the Claude Sessions icon in the Activity Bar, or
• Run Focus Claude Sessions View from Command Palette.

Install

From Marketplace

Search for Claude Sessions Explorer in the VS Code Extensions view, or install from the command line:

code --install-extension ShahadIshraq.vscode-claude-sessions

Also available on Open VSX for compatible editors.

From GitHub Releases

Download the latest .vsix from GitHub Releases, then:

1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P).
2. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX....
3. Select the downloaded .vsix file.
4. Reload when prompted.

Build + Install From Source

Package as VSIX

From the project root:

npx @vscode/vsce package

This creates a .vsix file such as:

• vscode-claude-sessions-x.y.z.vsix

Install VSIX

In VS Code:

1. Open Command Palette.
2. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX....
3. Select the generated .vsix file.
4. Reload when prompted.

Useful Commands

• npm run compile
• npm run lint
• npm run test

Notes

• Prompt previews open in a WebviewPanel, so closing them does not create file delete/save prompts.
• Session prompt list filters out command-wrapper/system-noise entries (for example command metadata wrappers).