diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index fe9a437..339fd6f 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -268,9 +268,10 @@ fn run(terminal: &mut tui::Tui, app: &mut App) -> Result<()> {
 fn resume_session(session: &session::Session) -> Result<()> {
     use std::os::unix::process::CommandExt;
 
-    // Change to conversation's working directory
-    if !session.cwd.is_empty() {
-        let _ = std::env::set_current_dir(&session.cwd);
+    // Change to the appropriate directory for resuming
+    let resume_cwd = session.resume_cwd();
+    if !resume_cwd.is_empty() {
+        let _ = std::env::set_current_dir(&resume_cwd);
     }
 
     let (program, args) = session.resume_command();
@@ -284,9 +285,10 @@ fn resume_session(session: &session::Session) -> Result<()> {
 
 #[cfg(not(unix))]
 fn resume_session(session: &session::Session) -> Result<()> {
-    // Change to conversation's working directory
-    if !session.cwd.is_empty() {
-        let _ = std::env::set_current_dir(&session.cwd);
+    // Change to the appropriate directory for resuming
+    let resume_cwd = session.resume_cwd();
+    if !resume_cwd.is_empty() {
+        let _ = std::env::set_current_dir(&resume_cwd);
     }
 
     let (program, args) = session.resume_command();
diff --git a/src/parser/claude.rs b/src/parser/claude.rs
index ce429a4..de5e89c 100644
--- a/src/parser/claude.rs
+++ b/src/parser/claude.rs
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ use super::{join_consecutive_messages, SessionParser};
 struct ClaudeLine {
     #[serde(rename = "type")]
     entry_type: String,
-    #[serde(rename = "sessionId")]
-    session_id: Option<String>,
     cwd: Option<String>,
     #[serde(rename = "gitBranch")]
     git_branch: Option<String>,
@@ -50,7 +48,13 @@ impl SessionParser for ClaudeParser {
         let file = File::open(path).context("Failed to open file")?;
         let reader = BufReader::with_capacity(64 * 1024, file);
 
-        let mut session_id: Option<String> = None;
+        // Use filename as session ID (what Claude Code expects for --resume)
+        let session_id = path
+            .file_stem()
+            .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
+            .unwrap_or("unknown")
+            .to_string();
+
         let mut cwd: Option<String> = None;
         let mut git_branch: Option<String> = None;
         let mut latest_timestamp: Option<DateTime<Utc>> = None;
@@ -83,9 +87,6 @@ impl SessionParser for ClaudeParser {
             }
 
             // Extract session metadata from the first valid message
-            if session_id.is_none() {
-                session_id = entry.session_id.clone();
-            }
             if cwd.is_none() {
                 cwd = entry.cwd.clone();
             }
@@ -135,14 +136,6 @@ impl SessionParser for ClaudeParser {
             }
         }
 
-        // Fall back to filename for session ID if not found
-        let session_id = session_id.unwrap_or_else(|| {
-            path.file_stem()
-                .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
-                .unwrap_or("unknown")
-                .to_string()
-        });
-
         Ok(Session {
             id: session_id,
             source: SessionSource::ClaudeCode,
diff --git a/src/session.rs b/src/session.rs
index a07e6c1..7ec7f7c 100644
--- a/src/session.rs
+++ b/src/session.rs
@@ -96,6 +96,35 @@ impl Session {
             .unwrap_or(&self.cwd)
     }
 
+    /// Get the directory to cd into before resuming the session.
+    /// For Claude Code: decodes the project folder from file_path since sessions
+    /// are stored in project-specific folders, not the cwd recorded in messages.
+    /// For other sources: uses the cwd field.
+    pub fn resume_cwd(&self) -> String {
+        match self.source {
+            SessionSource::ClaudeCode => {
+                // Extract project folder from file_path: ~/.claude/projects/<project>/session.jsonl
+                // The project folder encodes the original cwd:
+                // "-Users-bob--config-nvim" -> "/Users/bob/.config/nvim"
+                if let Some(project_dir) = self.file_path.parent() {
+                    if let Some(project_name) = project_dir.file_name().and_then(|s| s.to_str()) {
+                        // Decode: "--" -> "/." (hidden dir), "-" -> "/"
+                        let decoded = project_name
+                            .replace("--", "\x00")  // Temporarily mark hidden dirs
+                            .replace('-', "/")
+                            .replace('\x00', "/.");
+                        if std::path::Path::new(&decoded).exists() {
+                            return decoded;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                // Fall back to cwd if decoding fails
+                self.cwd.clone()
+            }
+            _ => self.cwd.clone(),
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Get the resume command for this session
     /// Checks RECALL_CLAUDE_CMD / RECALL_CODEX_CMD / RECALL_FACTORY_CMD env vars first, falls back to defaults
     /// Env var format: "program arg1 arg2 {id}" where {id} is replaced with session ID
diff --git a/tests/integration.rs b/tests/integration.rs
index fd7f386..af392b9 100644
--- a/tests/integration.rs
+++ b/tests/integration.rs
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ fn test_search_finds_matching_content() {
 
     assert!(!app.results.is_empty(), "Should find results for 'hello'");
     assert!(
-        app.results.iter().any(|r| r.session.id == "test-claude-123"),
+        app.results.iter().any(|r| r.session.id == "session"),
         "Should find Claude session"
     );
 }
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ fn test_cli_search_finds_fixture_content() {
 
     // Should find the Claude fixture session
     assert!(
-        results.iter().any(|r| r["session_id"] == "test-claude-123"),
+        results.iter().any(|r| r["session_id"] == "session"),
         "Should find Claude fixture session"
     );
 }
@@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ fn test_cli_read_returns_session() {
     let temp_dir = setup_test_env();
 
     let (stdout, _stderr, success) = run_cli(
-        &["read", "test-claude-123"],
+        &["read", "session"],
         temp_dir.path(),
     );
 
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ fn test_cli_read_returns_session() {
     let json: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&stdout)
         .expect("Output should be valid JSON");
 
-    assert_eq!(json["session_id"], "test-claude-123");
+    assert_eq!(json["session_id"], "session");
     assert_eq!(json["source"], "claude");
     assert!(json["messages"].is_array());
     assert!(!json["messages"].as_array().unwrap().is_empty());