[BUG] Cowork fails to start on Windows 11 Home — requires Hyper-V which is unavailable on Home edition

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?

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Home

• No VPN, no Hyper-V (unavailable on Home edition)
• WSL2: 2.6.3.0 (installed via Microsoft Store)
• Virtual Machine Platform: enabled
• Windows Hypervisor Platform: enabled
• Virtualization: enabled in BIOS

Error
Cowork requires Hyper-V, but Hyper-V is not available on Windows 11 Home.
This persists even after installing WSL2 and enabling VirtualMachinePlatform + HypervisorPlatform.

Expected behavior
Cowork should work on Windows 11 Home using WSL2 as the underlying technology,
without requiring the full Hyper-V feature that is only available on Pro/Enterprise.

What Should Happen?

Request
Please clarify whether Windows 11 Home is officially supported,
or provide a workaround that does not require Hyper-V.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Claude Desktop on Windows 11 Home
2. Install WSL2 (v2.6.3.0)
3. Enable Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform
4. Open Cowork tab
5. Error: Hyper-V is required

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

• Claude Desktop: latest (Feb 2026)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_