SessionDeck

The local dashboard for Claude Code sessions — browse, search, recover, and govern your AI coding sessions without touching source data.

English | 简体中文

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Why SessionDeck?

Claude Code stores sessions as local JSON files in ~/.claude/projects. As your sessions grow, you face real problems:

Problem	Without SessionDeck	With SessionDeck
Finding old sessions	Manually dig through JSON files	Visual table with search, sort, and filter
Lost context after compaction	Gone forever — Claude auto-compacts long sessions	Session Timeline reads pre-compact snapshots
Accidental deletion	rm = permanent loss	Safe delete via system Trash only
Searching across sessions	Impossible without scripting	Full-text search across all sessions + subagents
Exporting conversations	Copy-paste from JSON	One-click Markdown export (single or batch)
Understanding session history	Raw JSON reading	Visual timeline with role-colored messages

TL;DR — SessionDeck is a read-only dashboard that sits on top of your Claude Code session files. It never modifies source data. It gives you visibility, searchability, and recovery capabilities that Claude Code itself doesn't provide.

Key Features

🗂️ Session Manager

• Visual session browser — project name, summary, first/last prompt, message count, timestamps
• Keyword search & filtering — find any session instantly
• Custom naming & tagging — via sidecar metadata (never modifies source files)
• Batch selection & export — export multiple sessions to Markdown at once
• Safe delete — moves to system Trash, never hard-deletes

🔍 Session Timeline

• Load full conversation timeline by session ID (main session + subagents)
• View pre-compact context — recover messages that Claude Code auto-compacted
• Locate compact points — see exactly where and when compaction happened
• Export to Markdown — save the full recovered timeline

♻️ Recovery

• Restore deleted sessions from system Trash back to original paths
• Search recoverable records by session ID/path/status
• Track recovery status (deleted / restored / failed)
• Return to Session Manager after restore workflow

🔧 Advanced Tools

• Rebuild sessions-index.json — fix corrupted index without touching session data
• Full-text search — search across all sessions with optional subagent inclusion
• Global search — find keywords across your entire session library

🎨 Interface

• War-room terminal aesthetic — dark monospace UI designed for information density
• Bilingual — English / 中文 toggle
• Desktop-first, mobile-compatible — responsive layout

Data Safety

SessionDeck enforces strict read-only boundaries:

 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │  ~/.claude/projects  (YOUR SESSION DATA)    │
 │                                             │
 │  SessionDeck READS ───────► Display in UI   │
 │  SessionDeck NEVER writes to session files  │
 │                                             │
 │  Delete = System Trash only (recoverable)   │
 │  Tags/Names = Sidecar files (separate)      │
 └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start

One-liner (Terminal)

git clone https://github.com/gaoryan86/sessiondeck.git
cd sessiondeck && ./run.sh

Open http://127.0.0.1:47831 in your browser.

Double-click Launch

Platform	Start	Stop
macOS	Session Deck.command	Stop Session Deck.command
Windows	Session Deck.bat	Stop Session Deck.bat

macOS Spotlight Integration

./scripts/install-macos-launcher.sh

Creates ~/Applications/Session Deck.app — searchable via Spotlight.

Screenshots

Session Manager

Session Timeline

Recovery

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ (no other dependencies — zero npm install needed)
• Claude Code installed with local sessions at ~/.claude/projects

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	47831	Server port
CLAUDE_PROJECTS	~/.claude/projects	Claude Code sessions directory

PORT=47840 CLAUDE_PROJECTS="$HOME/.claude/projects" ./run.sh

Architecture

SessionDeck/
├── index.html          # Single-page frontend (HTML + CSS + JS)
├── server.mjs          # Node.js HTTP server (zero dependencies)
├── run.sh              # Cross-platform launch script
├── Session Deck.command # macOS double-click launcher
├── Session Deck.bat    # Windows double-click launcher
└── docs/               # Screenshots and documentation

• No framework, no build step, no npm install — just node server.mjs
• Single index.html for the entire frontend
• Pure Node.js HTTP server with zero external dependencies

Use Cases

• Developers using Claude Code daily who need to find past sessions quickly
• Recovering lost context after Claude Code auto-compacts long conversations
• Auditing AI interactions — review what Claude did across projects
• Exporting conversations for documentation, sharing, or archival
• Managing session sprawl — hundreds of sessions across dozens of projects

FAQ

Does SessionDeck modify my Claude Code sessions?

No. SessionDeck is strictly read-only. The only write operation is deletion, which goes through the system Trash (fully recoverable). Custom names and tags are stored in separate sidecar files.

Does it work with Claude Code on all platforms?

Yes. SessionDeck works on macOS, Windows, and Linux wherever Claude Code stores sessions locally.

Can I recover compacted sessions?

Yes — this is one of SessionDeck's core features. The Session Timeline tab reads pre-compact snapshot data that Claude Code keeps but doesn't expose in its own UI.

Does it need internet access?

No. SessionDeck runs 100% locally. No data is ever sent anywhere.

Project Status

• Current release: v0.1.6
• See CHANGELOG.md for release history

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening PRs.

Security

Report vulnerabilities via SECURITY.md.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.

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SessionDeck — See everything Claude Code doesn't show you.