Troubleshoot missing chats in Pairbar

Before you start

• Pairbar showing over Claude or Codex (if the sidebar itself is missing, press ⌃⌥S first).
• Terminal, for the codex cloud list check.

Steps

1. Is it a regular Claude chat?
   Pairbar lists Claude Code sessions and Codex threads, not regular (non-coding) Claude chats. Hold ⌥ over the sidebar to peek at Claude's own sidebar, where those live.
2. Clear filters and search
   Check the bar under the search field: set All · Claude · Codex to All, clear any label filter, and empty the search field. A collapsed group shows its name, total and any urgent activity, and long groups show their first rows with Show all, so expand them.
3. Show hidden chats
   Hide removes a chat from Pairbar only. Turn on Show hidden chats (in the view menu, or Settings → Chats & sidebar); hidden rows show 👁‍🗨, and Unhide brings one back.
4. Is the app's chip dimmed?
   An orange ⏻ on the Claude or Codex chip means that app isn't running; click ⏻ to open it. Get Codex ↓ means Codex isn't installed, so there are no Codex chats to show.
5. Codex chats missing: check your Codex version
   Pairbar reads Codex's database (~/.codex/state_<n>.sqlite). It adapts to schema changes and waits while Codex is mid-write, but a very different Codex version can need a Pairbar update. Update Pairbar (menu-bar icon → Check for Updates…) and, if they're still missing, email support with your Codex version.
6. A Claude cloud session missing: open Code in Claude
   Cloud sessions come from the Claude app's own copy of its Code sessions list. Open Code in the Claude app once so it loads the list; the row appears within a few seconds. Sessions archived in Claude are left out.
7. Codex cloud tasks missing: test the CLI
   Run codex cloud list in a terminal. If it errors, install or sign in to codex. If it lists your tasks, keep Pairbar's sidebar showing: it refreshes the list at most every 5 minutes, and only while the sidebar is visible.
8. Search finds nothing: wait for the cache
   Searching inside conversations uses a text cache that Pairbar builds in the background about 20 seconds after launch. Try again in a moment. Titles, projects and branches match instantly.

Quick reference

Things that look like missing chats but aren't

• Sessions you run through Remote Control are your Mac's own chats and are listed once, as local chats, not twice.
• Search covers your messages and the agents' replies, not tool output, so a string that only appeared in a command's output won't match.
• While the pointer is over the list, rows don't move; a new order is applied when the pointer leaves.
• If the Claude app changed how it stores its sessions cache, cloud sessions are left out until Pairbar is updated. Local chats are unaffected.
• While Pairbar is locked (the trial has ended), the sidebar shows the lock screen instead of the list. Nothing is deleted.

Troubleshooting

The whole sidebar is missing, not just chats

Claude or Codex must be frontmost with its own sidebar open and a wide enough window. Press ⌃⌥S in case Pairbar is collapsed.

A cloud session shows without its question or current action

That's expected: there's no transcript of cloud chats on your Mac, so Pairbar can't show questions, actions or search inside them.