Task history recovery

Recover lost Cline task history using the built-in reconstruction command or manual backup restoration.

If you lose access to previous tasks after updating Cline or changing settings, you can usually recover them with the built-in recovery command. This guide explains how task history is stored and how to restore it.

Most cases are resolved by running the built-in recovery command described below.

Quick recovery

1. Open the Command Palette

   Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P.

2. Run the recovery command

   Type Cline: Reconstruct Task History and select it.

   The VS Code command ID is cline.reconstructTaskHistory.

3. Confirm the action

   A confirmation prompt will appear. Click Yes to proceed.

4. Wait for reconstruction

   Cline scans your task folders and rebuilds the history index. This may take a moment depending on how many tasks you have.

5. Verify recovery

   Check the history panel to confirm your tasks have been restored.

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Where Cline stores data

Cline stores task history in VS Code’s globalStorage directory, keyed to the extension ID saoudrizwan.claude-dev.

Storage paths

VS Code

# macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/

# Windows
%APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\

# Linux
~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/

For VS Code Insiders, replace Code with Code - Insiders.

JetBrains

# macOS
~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/<IDE>/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/

# Windows
%APPDATA%\JetBrains\<IDE>\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\

# Linux
~/.config/JetBrains/<IDE>/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/

Replace <IDE> with your IDE name, for example IntelliJIdea2023.3, PyCharm2023.3, or WebStorm2023.3.

Directory structure

saoudrizwan.claude-dev/
├── state/
│   ├── taskHistory.json           # Main history index
│   └── taskHistory.backup.*.json  # Automatic backups
├── tasks/
│   └── <task-id>/                 # Individual task data
│       ├── api_conversation_history.json
│       ├── ui_messages.json
│       └── task_metadata.json
└── checkpoints/
    └── <workspace-hash>/          # Per-workspace checkpoint storage
        └── .git/                  # Shadow Git repository for snapshots

The taskHistory.json file is an index. The actual conversation data lives in individual folders under tasks/. This means the index can be rebuilt even if it becomes corrupted or out of date.

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How the recovery command works

The cline.reconstructTaskHistory command rebuilds the history index from scratch without deleting any task data:

1. Backs up the current taskHistory.json.
2. Scans the tasks/ directory for all task folders.
3. Reads conversation data from each task folder.
4. Recalculates token usage and costs.
5. Writes a new taskHistory.json.

The recovery command can only reconstruct history from task folders that still exist on disk. If the tasks/ directory or individual task folders have been permanently deleted, the data in those folders cannot be recovered.

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Manual recovery

Restoring from a backup

Cline automatically creates backup files in the state/ folder. To restore from one:

VS Code (macOS/Linux)

cd ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/state/

# List available backups
ls taskHistory.backup.*.json

# Restore the most recent backup
cp taskHistory.backup.1234567890.json taskHistory.json

JetBrains (macOS)

cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/JetBrains/<IDE>/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/state/

# List available backups
ls taskHistory.backup.*.json

# Restore the most recent backup
cp taskHistory.backup.1234567890.json taskHistory.json

Migrating to a new machine

You can transfer all your Cline conversations to a new computer by copying the storage folder.

1. Locate your Cline data on the old machine

   Find the saoudrizwan.claude-dev folder using the storage paths above.

2. Copy the folder

   Copy the entire saoudrizwan.claude-dev folder to an external drive or transfer method of your choice.

3. Set up your new machine

   Install your IDE (VS Code or JetBrains) and the Cline extension.

4. Close your IDE

   Make sure the IDE is fully closed before proceeding.

5. Paste the data folder

   Place the copied saoudrizwan.claude-dev folder at the same storage path on your new machine.

6. Launch and verify

   Open your IDE. Your task history should appear in Cline.

Task data uses the same format across operating systems. Cross-platform migration (for example, Windows to macOS) works without any additional steps.

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Common problems

History is empty after a VS Code update

Run Cline: Reconstruct Task History from the Command Palette. If that doesn’t work, check the state/ folder for a backup file and restore it manually.

History lost after reinstalling VS Code

VS Code typically preserves extension data when uninstalled. Reinstall Cline and run the recovery command. If the data is gone, check whether you have a backup from before the reinstall.

"No tasks found" error

This error occurs when the tasks/ folder is empty or missing. Common causes:

• VS Code extension data was completely cleared.
• You are using VS Code Insiders but looking in the standard VS Code storage path (or vice versa).
• The tasks/ folder was manually deleted.

Verify the correct storage path for your IDE and confirm the folder exists.

Recovery ran but some tasks are still missing

Task folders that are corrupted or unreadable are skipped during reconstruction. The command reports how many tasks were recovered and how many were skipped. Review any error messages for details about which task folders could not be read.

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Getting additional help

If recovery does not resolve your issue:

• Open a GitHub issue
• Ask in the Cline Discord community

When reporting, include:

• Your OS and IDE name and version
• Cline version
• What happened before the data loss
• Any error messages shown
• Relevant JSON files from the affected task folder (api_conversation_history.json, ui_messages.json, task_metadata.json)