{"slug": "beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it", "title": "Beware, Claude Code deletes >30 day old transcripts. Anthropic won't fix it", "summary": "A bug in Anthropic's Claude Code tool silently deletes conversation transcripts older than 30 days by default, causing users to lose months of reasoning history without warning. The issue, filed on GitHub, shows the cleanupPeriodDays default is set to 30 with no disclosure or opt-in, and Anthropic has declined to fix it. Users must manually override the setting to prevent data loss.", "body_md": "-\n[Notifications](/login?return_to=%2Fanthropics%2Fclaude-code)You must be signed in to change notification settings -\n[Fork 21.8k](/login?return_to=%2Fanthropics%2Fclaude-code)\n\n# [BUG] Claude Code silently deletes conversation transcripts after 30 days by default #62476\n\n[bugSomething isn't working](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22bug%22)Something isn't working\n\n## Description\n\n### Preflight Checklist\n\n- I have searched\n[existing issues](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3Abug)and this hasn't been reported yet - This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)\n- I am using the latest version of Claude Code\n\n### What's Wrong?\n\ncleanupPeriodDays defaults to 30, causing Claude Code to silently delete\n\n~/.claude/projects//.jsonl files older than 30 days on\n\nstartup. There is no first-run disclosure, no warning before deletion, and the\n\nsetting is not surfaced in /config. I lost months of conversation history\n\nbefore realizing this was happening.\n\n**Repro:** Use Claude Code for >30 days without setting cleanupPeriodDays. Old\n\ntranscripts disappear.\n\n**Evidence on my machine:** ~/.claude/history.jsonl shows 14 sessions / 1,315\n\nprompts for one project from March–April. Only the current session's .jsonl\n\nsurvives in ~/.claude/projects/. The cutoff matches the 30-day default\n\nexactly. My settings.json does not override the default.\n\n**Impact:** The code and git history remain, but the reasoning trail — design\n\ndiscussions, debugging context, analysis — is gone. For research work that\n\ncontext is the artifact.\n\n### What Should Happen?\n\n**Requested:**\n\n- Change the default to non-destructive (disabled, or very long retention).\n- Disclose at first run; require opt-in for auto-deletion.\n- Soft-delete to a trash folder instead of unlink().\n- Surface the setting in /config.\n\nWorkaround for others: add \"cleanupPeriodDays\": 3650 to\n\n~/.claude/settings.json immediately.\n\n### Error Messages/Logs\n\n### Steps to Reproduce\n\nUse Claude Code for >30 days without setting cleanupPeriodDays. Old transcripts disappear.\n\n### Claude Model\n\nNone\n\n### Is this a regression?\n\nI don't know\n\n### Last Working Version\n\n*No response*\n\n### Claude Code Version\n\n2.1.150\n\n### Platform\n\nAnthropic API\n\n### Operating System\n\nUbuntu/Debian Linux\n\n### Terminal/Shell\n\nOther\n\n### Additional Information\n\n*No response*\n\n## Metadata\n\n## Metadata\n\n### Assignees\n\n### Labels\n\n[bugSomething isn't working](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22bug%22)Something isn't working\n\n### Type\n\n### Fields\n\n[Give feedback](https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/189141)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/62476", "published_at": "2026-06-30 13:58:21+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-30 15:00:21.589306+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "ai-safety", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Anthropic", "Claude Code", "GitHub"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/beware-claude-code-deletes-30-day-old-transcripts-anthropic-won-t-fix-it.jsonld"}}