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Claude Code History Files Finder

  • 895 installs
  • 1.3k repo stars
  • Updated August 4, 2026
  • daymade/claude-code-skills

claude-code-history-files-finder is a Claude Code skill that locates and recovers lost work from hidden Claude Code session history JSONL files for developers who lost agent-generated content after a session ended.

About

claude-code-history-files-finder is a claude-code-skills marketplace skill with a 314-line SKILL.md, two Python scripts, and JSONL format references for Claude Code session files. Scripts analyze_sessions.py searches and analyzes session history while recover_content.py extracts recoverable content from stored JSONL records documented in references/session_file_format.md. Developers reach for this skill when prior Claude Code work disappears from the editor but may still exist on disk in hidden session stores. The skill passed security validation with a .security-scan-passed marker and follows marketplace conventions for executable recovery tooling.

  • Scans Claude Code session directories for relevant history files
  • Recovers deleted or overwritten content from JSONL session logs
  • Analyzes conversation context across multiple sessions
  • 2 production-ready scripts: analyze_sessions.py and recover_content.py
  • Includes detailed session_file_format.md reference

Claude Code History Files Finder by the numbers

  • 895 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +52 installs in the week ending Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #1,232 of 16,546 AI & Agent Building skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/daymade/claude-code-skills --skill claude-code-history-files-finder

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs895
repo stars1.3k
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedAugust 4, 2026
Repositorydaymade/claude-code-skills

How do you recover lost Claude Code session work?

Locate and recover lost work from Claude Code's hidden session history files.

Who is it for?

Claude Code users who lost generated code or prompts and need to mine local session JSONL history on disk.

Skip if: Developers using Cursor or Codex exclusively without Claude Code session file stores on the local machine.

When should I use this skill?

A developer lost Claude Code session output and needs to find or recover content from hidden session history files.

What you get

Recovered session content, session search results, and extracted text from Claude Code JSONL history files.

  • Recovered session content
  • Session search analysis output

By the numbers

  • 314-line SKILL.md instruction file
  • 2 Python scripts: analyze_sessions.py and recover_content.py

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Claude Code History Files Finder

Extract and recover content from Claude Code's session history files stored in ~/.claude/projects/.

Capabilities

  • Recover deleted or lost files from previous sessions
  • Search for specific code or content across conversation history
  • Analyze file modifications across past sessions
  • Track tool usage and file operations over time
  • Find sessions containing specific keywords or topics

Session File Locations

Session files are stored at ~/.claude/projects/<normalized-path>/<session-id>.jsonl.

For detailed JSONL structure and extraction patterns, see references/session_file_format.md.

Core Operations

1. List Sessions for a Project

Find all session files for a specific project:

python3 scripts/analyze_sessions.py list /path/to/project

Shows most recent sessions with timestamps and sizes.

Optional: --limit N to show only N sessions (default: 10).

2. Search Sessions for Keywords

Locate sessions containing specific content:

python3 scripts/analyze_sessions.py search /path/to/project keyword1 keyword2

Returns sessions ranked by keyword frequency with:

  • Total mention count
  • Per-keyword breakdown
  • Session date and path

Optional: --case-sensitive for exact matching.

3. Recover Deleted Content

Extract files from session history:

python3 scripts/recover_content.py /path/to/session.jsonl

Extracts all Write tool calls and saves files to ./recovered_content/, preserving the original directory structure.

Filtering by keywords:

python3 scripts/recover_content.py session.jsonl -k ModelLoading FRONTEND deleted

Recovers only files matching any keyword in their path.

Custom output directory:

python3 scripts/recover_content.py session.jsonl -o ./my_recovery/

4. Analyze Session Statistics

Get detailed session metrics:

python3 scripts/analyze_sessions.py stats /path/to/session.jsonl

Reports:

  • Message counts (user/assistant)
  • Tool usage breakdown
  • File operation counts (Write/Edit/Read)

Optional: --show-files to list all file operations.

Workflow Examples

For detailed workflow examples including file recovery, tracking file evolution, and batch operations, see references/workflow_examples.md.

Recovery Best Practices

Deduplication

recover_content.py automatically keeps only the latest version of each file. If a file was written multiple times in a session, only the final version is saved.

Keyword Selection

Choose distinctive keywords that appear in:

  • File names or paths
  • Function/class names
  • Unique strings in code
  • Error messages or comments

Output Organization

Create descriptive output directories:

# Bad
python3 scripts/recover_content.py session.jsonl -o ./output/

# Good
python3 scripts/recover_content.py session.jsonl -o ./recovered_deleted_docs/
python3 scripts/recover_content.py session.jsonl -o ./feature_xy_history/

Verification

After recovery, always verify content:

# Check directory structure (files preserved in subdirectories)
find ./recovered_content/ -type f

# Read recovery report (shows full output paths)
cat ./recovered_content/recovery_report.txt

# Spot-check content (use actual path from report)
head -20 ./recovered_content/src/components/ImportantFile.jsx

Limitations

What Can Be Recovered

✅ Files written using Write tool ✅ Code shown in markdown blocks (partial extraction) ✅ File paths from Edit/Read operations

What Cannot Be Recovered

❌ Files never written to disk (only discussed) ❌ Files deleted before session start ❌ Binary files (images, PDFs) - only paths available ❌ External tool outputs not captured in session

File Versions

  • Only captures state when Write tool was called
  • Intermediate edits between Write calls are lost
  • Edit operations show deltas, not full content

Troubleshooting

No Sessions Found

# Verify project path normalization
ls ~/.claude/projects/ | grep -i "project-name"

# Check actual projects directory
ls -la ~/.claude/projects/

Empty Recovery

Possible causes:

  • Files were edited (Edit tool) but never written (Write tool)
  • Keywords don't match file paths in session
  • Session predates file creation

Solutions:

  • Try --show-edits flag to see Edit operations
  • Broaden keyword search
  • Search adjacent sessions

Large Session Files

For sessions >100MB:

  • Scripts use streaming (line-by-line processing)
  • Memory usage remains constant
  • Processing may take 1-2 minutes

Security & Privacy

Before Sharing Recovered Content

Session files may contain:

  • Absolute paths with usernames
  • API keys or credentials
  • Company-specific information

Always sanitize before sharing:

# Remove absolute paths
sed -i '' 's|~/|<home>/|g' file.js

# Verify no credentials
grep -i "api_key\|password\|token" recovered_content/*

Safe Storage

Recovered content inherits sensitivity from original sessions. Store securely and follow organizational policies for handling session data.

Next Step: Resume Interrupted Work

After finding relevant session history, suggest continuing the work:

Found [N] relevant sessions with recoverable context.

Options:
A) Resume work — run /daymade-claude-code:continue-claude-work to pick up where you left off (Recommended)
B) Just show me the content — I'll decide what to do with it

Related skills

How it compares

Use for Claude Code-specific local session recovery rather than generic git reflog or editor undo history.

FAQ

What scripts does claude-code-history-files-finder include?

claude-code-history-files-finder bundles analyze_sessions.py for session search and analysis plus recover_content.py for extracting recoverable content. JSONL structure is documented in references/session_file_format.md.

When should developers use session history recovery?

claude-code-history-files-finder helps when Claude Code session output is missing from the editor but may persist in hidden JSONL history files. The skill searches sessions and extracts prior agent-generated content.

Is Claude Code History Files Finder safe to install?

skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

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