[BUG] Session read/unread state is still per-device, desktop app vs claude.ai web (reopening #81568)
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Reopening #81568, which was closed as not planned by the stale bot, not by a maintainer. The bug is still present.
Unread markers (blue dots) on sessions and project chats are tracked per device, not per account. Reading a chat in claude.ai in the browser does not clear it in the Claude desktop app, and the reverse. As of today, a project shows 14 chats unread on the web that show as read in the desktop app, all from September.
Cause, from inspecting claude.ai in Chrome: the read state is kept in browser local storage under persisted.cowork-read-state.<org id>, a map of session ID to last-viewed timestamp. Nothing in it is synced to the account, so each surface keeps its own list. Archive state, by contrast, syncs across every surface, as noted in #81568.
Impact. I run scheduled tasks and Cowork sessions as background workers, and the blue dot is how I check for finished work before planning what to do next. I triage on the web (several chat windows side by side) while working in the desktop app for local computer access, so with per-device state the dot can't be trusted on either surface.
Related: #81568, #92212, #78229, #78679, #75343
What Should Happen?
Read/unread is account-level state, like archive state. Opening a chat on any surface clears its unread marker on all of them.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
- In a project, let a session or scheduled task finish while no client is viewing it.
- Open it in the Claude desktop app (Windows).
- Open claude.ai in Chrome, same account. It still shows the blue dot.
The reverse also happens: chats read in Chrome still show as unread in the desktop app.
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude for Windows 2.42304.0 (e7f60e), plus claude.ai web in Chrome
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Windows Terminal
Additional Information
Windows 11 Pro 25H2, OS build 26200.9457. Pro plan. Affects claude.ai project chats and Cowork/scheduled-task sessions. Not a regression as far as I know.