Session name set by /rename is overwritten after /resume

Description

When resuming a named session via /resume, the custom session name set by /rename gets overwritten with an auto-generated title based on conversation content.

Steps to Reproduce

Start a session
Run /rename my-session-name to name the session
Exit the session
Run /resume or claude --resume my-session-name to resume the session
Work in the session, then exit
Run /resume again to see the session list

Expected Behavior

The session should retain the custom name my-session-name set by /rename.

Actual Behavior

The custom name is replaced with an auto-generated title based on conversation content. The original name is lost.

Additional Context

This happens consistently across multiple sessions
Renaming again with /rename works temporarily, but the name gets overwritten again after the next resume
Version: 2.1.33
OS: macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

I can confirm that this issue can easily be reproduced on version 2.1.34

up

up, please this is really annoying!

Adding another voice here — this is a significant UX blocker for power users.

I run multiple concurrent Claude Code sessions across different projects and tasks. /rename is great for labeling terminal tabs, but the fact that session names don't persist through /resume makes session management painful in practice:

After a restart, /resume shows a list of auto-generated titles that all look similar
I've accidentally launched the same session multiple times because I couldn't tell them apart
I end up hopping between sessions trying to find the right one

This feels like a small fix that would be a big unlock. /rename should durably set the session name so it survives resume cycles. Right now the feature is half-built — it names the tab but the name evaporates on resume.

Please fix this, it would be highly impactful.

ROOT CAUSE

In the compiled bundle (versions/2.1.39), the function yw8 performs a fast metadata read of session JSONL files for the /resume picker:

let BbR = 16384;  // 16KB tail buffer
let J = Math.max(0, R - BbR);  // offset = fileSize - 16KB
let W = /* read last 16KB of file */;
let Q = nKT(W, "customTitle");  // string scan for customTitle

The /rename command (function x$T) appends a single line to the JSONL:

{"type":"custom-title","customTitle":"my-name","sessionId":"<uuid>"}

This line is ~80–100 bytes. After 16KB of additional conversation (roughly 2–5 more exchanges depending on tool use), the custom-title line falls outside the tail window and nKT returns null.

The full JSONL parser (R1T) correctly reads custom-title events from anywhere in the file, but R1T is only used for the first ~10 sessions shown in the picker (the “enrichment” pass via A1T). All other sessions use the fast yw8 path and lose their titles.

REPRODUCTION

Start a new session:
```
claude
```
Rename it:
```
/rename test-rename-bug
```
Have a conversation that generates >16KB of JSONL content
(typically 3–5 exchanges with tool use, or ~10 text-only exchanges)
Exit the session
Run:
```
claude
```
Open /resume and search for test-rename-bug
Expected: Session appears with custom title
Actual: Session appears with first prompt text, not searchable by title

VERIFICATION

To confirm the bug on any session, check if the custom-title line is in the last 16KB:

python3 -c "
import os, json, sys
path = sys.argv[1]
size = os.path.getsize(path)
tail_start = max(0, size - 16384)
offset = 0
with open(path) as f:
    for line in f:
        if '\"custom-title\"' in line:
            in_tail = offset >= tail_start
            obj = json.loads(line.strip())
            print(f'{\"OK\" if in_tail else \"MISS\"}: {obj.get(\"customTitle\")} (offset={offset}, tail_starts={tail_start})')
        offset += len(line.encode('utf-8'))
" ~/.claude/projects/<project-dir>/<session-id>.jsonl

WORKAROUND

Re-append the custom-title line to the end of affected JSONL files. This puts it back within the 16KB tail window:

python3 -c "
import json, os
from pathlib import Path
TAIL = 16384
for d in (Path.home() / '.claude/projects').iterdir():
    if not d.is_dir(): continue
    for f in d.glob('*.jsonl'):
        size = f.stat().st_size
        title_line = title_off = None; off = 0
        with open(f) as fh:
            for line in fh:
                if '\"custom-title\"' in line:
                    try:
                        obj = json.loads(line.strip())
                        if obj.get('type') == 'custom-title':
                            title_line, title_off = line.strip(), off
                    except: pass
                off += len(line.encode('utf-8'))
        if title_line and title_off < max(0, size - TAIL):
            with open(f, 'a') as fh: fh.write(title_line + '\n')
            print(f'Fixed: {json.loads(title_line)[\"customTitle\"]}')
"

This can be automated via a Stop hook in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "Stop": [{
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "claude-rebuild-session-index -q",
        "timeout": 10
      }]
    }]
  }
}

SUGGESTED FIX (UPSTREAM)

Option A (minimal):
In x$T (the /rename handler), after writing the custom-title event, also write it as the last line of the file. The duplicate is harmless since R1T uses Map.set() which overwrites, and nKT just does a string scan. This ensures it is always in the tail.

Option B (better):
In yw8, if nKT fails to find customTitle in the tail buffer, fall back to scanning from the head. The custom-title line is small and typically near the end of the non-message section, so a secondary scan of the first ~64KB would catch it.

Option C (best):
Avoid relying on tail-scanning for metadata. Write an explicit metadata header or maintain a small sidecar JSON file per session (e.g., <session-id>.meta.json) that stores customTitle, tags, and other metadata written by slash commands. This removes the dependency on JSONL byte offsets entirely.

RELATED ISSUES

Session name set by /rename is overwritten after /resume #23610
“Session name set by /rename is overwritten after /resume”
[BUG] Conversation name lost in active session after /resume, despite showing in picker #16973
“Conversation name lost in active session after /resume”

Both likely stem from the same 16KB tail-read limitation.

chore: Update CHANGELOG.md

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chore: Update CHANGELOG.md

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Session name set by /rename is overwritten after /resume #23610

Description

Steps to Reproduce

Expected Behavior

Actual Behavior

Additional Context

ROOT CAUSE

REPRODUCTION

VERIFICATION

WORKAROUND

SUGGESTED FIX (UPSTREAM)

RELATED ISSUES

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Session name set by /rename is overwritten after /resume #23610

Description

Description

Steps to Reproduce

Expected Behavior

Actual Behavior

Additional Context

Activity

github-actions commented on Feb 6, 2026

zhijun42 commented on Feb 7, 2026

kuzmany commented on Feb 10, 2026

giulioiannelli commented on Feb 11, 2026

krasmussen37 commented on Feb 11, 2026

DanielPBak commented on Feb 11, 2026

rfaile313 commented on Feb 12, 2026

ROOT CAUSE

REPRODUCTION

VERIFICATION

WORKAROUND

SUGGESTED FIX (UPSTREAM)

RELATED ISSUES

github-actions commented on Feb 27, 2026

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