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[Bug]: Claude instances with empty vs. "~/.claude" CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR get different continuation group keys #12616

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#12624
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[Bug]: Claude instances with empty vs. "~/.claude" CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR get different continuation group keys#12616
#12624
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acceptedfeature request acceptedbugSomething is broken or behaving incorrectly.via-triageFiled through npx t3 triage

Description

@RotzRohr
RotzRohr
opened on Sep 19, 2026

Before submitting

  • I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
  • I included enough detail to reproduce or investigate the problem.

Area

apps/server

Steps to reproduce

  1. On one environment, keep the default Claude instance with the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR field empty (the UI shows ~/.claude as placeholder).
  2. Add a second Claude instance and enter ~/.claude explicitly in the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR field. Authenticate it with a different account via the CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN environment variable.
  3. Start a thread on the default instance and send a message.
  4. Open the model picker and try to switch to the second instance.

Expected behavior

Both instances use the same Claude config directory (~/.claude), so they should share a continuation group and switching mid-thread should be allowed.

Actual behavior

The second instance is disabled with " is unavailable in this thread. Start a new thread to switch providers."

makeClaudeContinuationGroupKey resolves an empty homePath to os.homedir() instead of the directory Claude actually uses:

  • empty -> claude:home:/home/<user>
  • ~/.claude -> claude:home:/home/<user>/.claude

The keys differ even though the session storage is identical. Since the empty field displays ~/.claude as placeholder, the two settings look identical in the UI (see screenshots).

Impact

Minor bug or occasional failure

Version or commit

No response

Environment

No response

Logs or stack traces

Clear the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR field on the second instance (or enter `~/.claude` explicitly on both) so both resolve to the same key. Switching works afterwards.

Screenshots, recordings, or supporting files

Screenshot 2026-09-19 203142.png
Screenshot 2026-09-19 203134.png
Screenshot 2026-09-19 203236.png

Workaround

No response

Activity

  1. RotzRohr
    added
    bugSomething is broken or behaving incorrectly.
    needs-triageIssue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.
    on Sep 19, 2026

  2. juliusmarminge commented on Sep 19, 2026

    @juliusmarminge
    juliusmarminge
    on Sep 19, 2026
    Member

    Confirmed. This is a real server-side key mismatch, not a model-picker bug.

    makeClaudeContinuationGroupKey is built from resolveClaudeHomePath in apps/server/src/provider/Drivers/ClaudeHome.ts. An empty homePath resolves to os.homedir(), while ~/.claude resolves to os.homedir() + "/.claude". Those become different continuation groups:

    • empty → claude:home:/home/<user>
    • ~/.claude → claude:home:/home/<user>/.claude

    The CLI does not use those two paths as different config dirs. When homePath is empty, makeClaudeEnvironment leaves CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR unset, so Claude Code uses its default (~/.claude) — the same directory an explicit ~/.claude setting points at. The settings field also shows ~/.claude as the placeholder (packages/contracts/src/settings.ts), so the two configs look identical in the UI.

    The picker then locks the thread to the first instance’s group (ModelPickerContent / lockedContinuationGroupKey) and disables the other instance with “unavailable in this thread…”.

    This empty-path default is leftover from when the field overrode HOME (#2277). #4017 switched the runtime env to CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and updated the placeholder, but did not change the continuation-key default. Skills, usage, and session scanning already treat empty as ~/.claude (then inherited CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR); Codex already treats empty as ~/.codex. ClaudeHome.test.ts still asserts the old homedir() key.

    Workaround: leave CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR empty on both instances, or enter ~/.claude on both.

    Fix: make resolveClaudeHomePath (or the continuation-key helper) use the same resolution as resolveClaudeConfigDirPath in ClaudeSkills.ts: configured path, else inherited CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, else path.join(os.homedir(), ".claude"). Update the ClaudeHome unit test that currently expects claude:home:${homedir()}.

  3. juliusmarminge
    added
    acceptedfeature request accepted
    via-triageFiled through npx t3 triage
    and removed
    needs-triageIssue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.
    on Sep 19, 2026

  4. cestercian commented on Sep 19, 2026

    @cestercian
    cestercian
    on Sep 19, 2026
    Contributor

    Taking this — will normalize empty vs ~/.claude CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR so continuation group keys match.

  5. juliusmarminge
    closed this as completedin #12624on Sep 19, 2026
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