[BUG] Claude Desktop Folder Picker Incorrectly Restricts Access to Non-Home Drives on Windows Cowork
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?
I'm unable to select a folder outside of my home directory.
Unlike MacOS, on windows it's common to have other drives to store data. Currently it does not allow me to select my projects folder on d:\Projects.
I tried a junction and a symlink and am unable to use either of those to get access to my projects folder.
It's too large to fit on my c:\ drive, and I can't mount it in my home directory like I could on MacOS. For windows this is prohibitively restrictive. I can understand preventing access to system directories, or preventing program files directories, but other drives should be fine.
This unfortunately makes Cowork non functional for many with this use case.
What Should Happen?
I should be able to select alternative drives on windows.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
Attempt to select any folder on a separate drive.
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude 1.1.2685 (f39a62) 2026-02-10T19:42:56.000Z
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows 11
Terminal/Shell
Claude Desktop Cowork
Additional Information
_No response_
13 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
Those first 2 are similar, but the fix was the opposite, restricting rather than fixing by making it permissive by the users choice.
I'm also getting this error, I thought the other issues were the same but perhaps not.
I have this issue also. As the home directory is usually sync'ed with OneDrive, it is common for project folders to be outside. I was wanting to work with c:\projects but receive the same notification that this folder is outside of the home directory.
I'm also getting this issue. My main projects folder is on my D drive and I can't work with any of the folders in there.
Same issue. My usecase was accessing projects i have in my WSL home dir. I tried mounting like this:
But like others described, these mounts will also be rejected.
Also seeing this. Nobody keeps their projects in their user folder afaik. It'll almost always be on a different drive than C (it should be for performance).
Makes Cowork on WIndows not usable, all my work is on a different project drive and in special folders on drive c:
ask codex-gtp-5.3 to fix that ;) belive me, it works.
@sqbiak please share the solution then!
Complete and utter show stopper. I'd been waiting for the Windows release, but Cowork is useless to me like this.
I keep literally nothing in my home folder (that I can avoid). It's all on additional non-OS drives.
Merging into #24964 purely because I've already commented on that one
This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.