Raise cleanupPeriodDays so /resume can still find last month's session

The problem

The default retention is 30 days, so the useful session from six weeks ago — the one where you worked out a tricky migration — is deleted before you think to resume it.

The hack

Set `cleanupPeriodDays` in `settings.json` to something like `365`. Claude Code keeps session files and other application data for that many days instead of 30.

Why it works

Old transcripts are the cheapest form of project memory you have: they hold the reasoning behind decisions that never made it into a commit message. Retention is a one-line setting and disk cost for transcripts is trivial.

Setup

1. Open `~/.claude/settings.json` (create it if it does not exist). 2. Add `"cleanupPeriodDays": 365`. 3. Restart Claude Code — cleanup runs at startup. 4. Confirm older sessions now appear when you resume. 5. Note the same cutoff also governs automatic removal of orphaned worktrees.

Code

{
  "cleanupPeriodDays": 365
}

Additional details

Source

Related

• → Start a new session with /clear when the task truly changes
• → Write key decisions to a file so compaction cannot erase them
• → Rewind failed attempts instead of correcting in-place