[BUG] Korean IME composition fails in Quick Launcher (Option+Space) on macOS

Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 8 comments · opened Jan 28, 2026

Description

When typing Korean (Hangul) in the Quick Launcher (triggered by Option+Space), characters are lost during the IME composition process.

Korean input requires a composition buffer where consonants (초성), vowels (중성), and final consonants (종성) are combined before being committed. However, in the Quick Launcher, intermediate characters disappear during this composition process.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Claude Desktop on macOS
  2. Press Option+Space to open the Quick Launcher
  3. Switch to Korean input method
  4. Try typing "오늘 무엇을 도와드릴까요?" (a common Korean phrase)

Expected Behavior

The text should appear as typed: 오늘 무엇을 도와드릴까요?

Actual Behavior

The text appears broken: 오ㄹ 무ㅅㅡ 도ㅏㅡㅣ까?

What's happening:

  • When typing "오늘":
  1. Type "오" → "오" appears ✓
  2. Type "ㄴ" → "온" appears in composition buffer
  3. Type "ㅡ" → At this moment, "오" gets committed but "ㄴ" disappears, only "ㄹ" from the next syllable remains
  • Result: "오늘" becomes "오ㄹ"

This pattern repeats for each syllable, causing every other character to be lost.

Environment

  • OS: macOS (Darwin)
  • Claude Desktop: Latest version
  • Input Method: macOS default Korean input (2-Set Korean)
  • Trigger: Quick Launcher via Option+Space

Additional Context

The Quick Launcher likely uses a similar mechanism (overlay/tray-like window focus) that triggers the Electron CJK IME bug.

Workaround

Currently, the only workaround is to use the main Claude Desktop app instead of the Quick Launcher for Korean input.

View original on GitHub ↗

8 Comments

soyeon102 · 5 months ago

I am a Korean user. The Quick Launcher is convenient, but I rarely use the desktop app because it is not very convenient for Korean. Please fix this issue as soon as possible.

slaysd · 5 months ago

i am also have the same issue. please fix this issue

astron8t-voyagerx · 5 months ago

For those who are suffering from this bug

killall imklaunchagent

this command is a workaround that fixes the symptom.

alec-wrtn · 4 months ago

so painful to me. please fixit or fuck

HelloNoa · 4 months ago

same here

youngParkAntpeople · 3 months ago

+1, this is a significant blocker for Korean users.

The Quick Launcher is one of the main reasons to install Claude Desktop over using the web app — it's meant to be a fast, keyboard-driven entry point. But for any user whose primary input language uses IME composition (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), the Quick Launcher is effectively unusable. Falling back to the main window defeats the purpose of having a launcher at all.

Since this is reportedly tied to known Electron CJK IME bugs (electron/electron#32307, electron/electron#14834), I'd love to know if there's a planned workaround on the Claude Desktop side, even before the upstream Electron fix lands.

Happy to provide additional logs or test a patch build if it helps.

Edunga1 · 3 months ago

This appears to be fixed in 1.7196.0. Works for me now.