Claude Code

Prevent Claude Code from Deleting Your Session Logs

Honghao Wang

— 1 min read

Managing Claude Code Session Logs

By default, Claude Code stores complete logs of your sessions as newline-delimited JSON (`.jsonl`) files on your local machine.

Location of Logs

You can find them here:

`~/.claude/projects/encoded-directory/*.jsonl`

In my case, these files accumulated to about 379 MB of data.

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Example: Extracting and Converting Logs

This workflow lets you archive and review conversations in more readable formats.

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The Problem: Automatic Deletion After 30 Days

Claude Code’s default behavior:

  • Deletes logs automatically after 30 days.
  • No complete opt‑out setting is currently available.

Reference: Issue #4172

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Solution: Extend the Retention Period

You can drastically increase log retention — even up to ~274 years — by editing your configuration.

Steps:

  • Open your settings file:
  • `~/.claude/settings.json`
  • Add the following line:
{
  "cleanupPeriodDays": 99999
}

Note: See official docs for more settings:

Claude Code Settings Documentation

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Why Long-Term Logs Matter

For content creators and developers, preserving logs enables:

  • Auditing AI interactions.
  • Creating training datasets for future projects.
  • Retrospective project analysis to improve workflows.

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Bonus: Monetizing AI Workflows

Pair Claude Code log preservation with open‑source tools like AiToEarn to:

  • Generate content with AI.
  • Publish to multiple platforms:
  • Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Rednote/Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X/Twitter.
  • Analyze performance metrics.
  • Monetize creative output.

Result: You keep your AI workflow history and turn it into monetized, multi-platform content efficiently.

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Tip: Combine log preservation with export scripts to ensure your AI work is both archivable and profitable. Would you like me to draft a ready-to-use Python script that exports logs directly to AiToEarn’s publishing API?

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