Scroll regression in 2.0.8 - cannot scroll conversation history

[johnsalamito]

Bug Report: Scroll Regression in Claude Code 2.0.8

Issue Summary

Claude Code 2.0.8 has lost the ability to scroll through conversation history in terminal mode. Users can only view the last ~20 lines of responses, making long conversations impossible to review.

Versions Affected

• ✅ 2.0.1: Scrolling works correctly
• ❌ 2.0.8: Cannot scroll beyond visible viewport (~20 lines)
• ⚠️ 2.0.5: Status unknown (likely affected)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Claude Code 2.0.8: claude
2. Have a conversation with responses longer than terminal height
3. Try to scroll up to view earlier parts of the conversation
4. Result: Cannot scroll beyond the last ~20 lines visible in terminal

Expected Behavior

Should be able to scroll through entire conversation history using:

• Terminal scroll (mouse wheel, trackpad)
• Shift+Page Up/Down
• Terminal's native scroll functionality

This worked correctly in version 2.0.1.

Actual Behavior

Conversation output is locked to a fixed viewport showing only the most recent ~20 lines. Earlier content is inaccessible without using workarounds like:

• claude --print "question" | less (bypasses interactive mode)
• Ctrl+O transcript mode (workaround, not same as native scroll)

Environment

• OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)
• Terminal: Terminal.app / iTerm2
• Claude Code Version: 2.0.8
• Install Method: npm global install

Root Cause Analysis

Likely introduced by this change in 2.0.8:

"Improve message rendering for users with light themes on dark terminals"

This rendering improvement appears to have inadvertently changed the output buffer behavior, locking responses to a fixed window instead of allowing terminal scroll.

Additional Context

• This regression is not documented in release notes
• No intentional deprecation of scroll was announced
• Other Claude Code 2.0.x users have confirmed this issue
• Workaround: Downgrade to 2.0.1 where scrolling works

Impact

High - Makes Claude Code unusable for:

• Long debugging sessions
• Code reviews with extensive output
• Documentation review
• Any conversation requiring reference to earlier responses

Proposed Fix

Restore scroll behavior from 2.0.1 while maintaining the 2.0.8 rendering improvements for light themes.

Reproduction Evidence

# Working version
$ npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.0.1
$ claude
# [Can scroll through full conversation history]

# Broken version
$ npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.0.8
$ claude
# [Cannot scroll beyond last ~20 lines]

---

Request: Please restore scroll functionality in next release or provide configuration option to enable scrolling.

[jleguina]

+1

[jcogilvie]

In the latest version it's gotten even worse for me; now, my mouse wheel scroll is actually scrolling between messages I have already sent.

Workaround for scrolling for me (zsh, macos) is shift+pgup/pgdn.

[LuyiTian]

I am using 2.0.45 and still have this problem

[ironicviking]

Same, im on 2.0.47 (linux) and am also seeing the issue.

[jbarraquand]

Same problem here, just moved to 2.0.55, scrolling does not work, terminal unusable

[jbarraquand]

Same problem here, just moved to 2.0.55, scrolling does not work, terminal unusable

found the issue. the scrolling problem came from the terminal. close ti and reopened a new terminal window. claude cli works fine in the most recent version 2.0.55