[BUG] Claude Desktop Windows — Cloudflare challenge infinite redirect loop after update, app unusable

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?

Note: This is a Claude Desktop bug, not Claude Code CLI.

After updating Claude Desktop on Windows (Feb 14, 2026), the app enters an infinite rapid page refresh loop and is completely unusable. claude.ai works normally in a web browser — this issue is isolated to the Desktop app.

The app's Electron browser encounters a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge but cannot solve it, triggering an endless redirect loop. REACT_QUERY_CLIENT fires Cloudflare challenge detected, redirecting... errors 30+ times within the same second, causing visible rapid page flickering. An EventEmitter memory leak warning also appears due to the uncapped retry loop.

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop should handle the Cloudflare challenge gracefully — either solve it within the Electron webview, or show a user-facing error with a manual retry option — rather than entering an infinite redirect loop.

Error Messages/Logs

2026-02-14 04:28:39 [warn] MaxListenersExceededWarning: Possible EventEmitter memory leak detected. 11 $eipc_message$_xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx_$_claude.web_$_AutoUpdater_$_updaterState_$store$_update listeners added.
2026-02-14 04:28:39 [error] [REACT_QUERY_CLIENT] QueryClient error: Error: Cloudflare challenge detected, redirecting...
2026-02-14 04:28:39 [error] [REACT_QUERY_CLIENT] QueryClient error: Error: Cloudflare challenge detected, redirecting...
(repeats 30+ times in the same second)
2026-02-14 04:28:39 [error] [REACT_QUERY_CLIENT] QueryClient error: TypeError: Failed to fetch (claude.ai)
2026-02-14 03:51:04 [error] Failed to fetch RSC payload for https://claude.ai/artifacts. Falling back to browser navigation. TypeError: Failed to fetch (claude.ai)
2026-02-14 03:51:04 [error] Failed to fetch RSC payload for https://claude.ai/projects. Falling back to browser navigation. TypeError: Failed to fetch (claude.ai)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Update Claude Desktop on Windows to the latest version (Feb 14, 2026)
2. Launch the app
3. App enters rapid continuous page refresh/reload loop — completely unusable
4. Check %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\claude.ai-web.log — shows "Cloudflare challenge detected, redirecting..." repeated 30+ times per second

Note: claude.ai works normally in a web browser on the same machine, confirming this is not a network/DNS issue.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

N/A (Claude Desktop app, not Claude Code CLI)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

• Log file location: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\claude.ai-web.log
• The redirect loop has no retry cap — fires 30+ times in a single second
• Web browser access to claude.ai works fine on the same machine
• Related issues: #24538 (Cloudflare challenge blocks CLI), #22685 (Desktop login loop)