Claude Co-Work Cannot Access or Modify Files in Google Drive Directory — Limited to Home Directory Only

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?

Claude Co-Work has severe path/directory access restrictions that prevent interaction with locally mounted Google Drive folders. The application restricts all file operations to the home directory only and rejects access to any other locations, including a locally mounted Google Drive.

Current Behavior:

• When attempting to access, create, modify, or organize files in a locally mounted Google Drive directory, Claude Co-Work returns an error stating it can only interact with folders in the home directory
• The Google Drive Connector add-on, while available, offers minimal functionality and can only read files—it cannot create, modify, rename, or reorganize files, and appears to only work with native Google Docs files
• This restriction makes it impossible to use Claude Co-Work for business automation workflows that require file management in Google Drive

Business Impact:

• As a team plan user managing 20+ employees, file automation and organization is critical for business workflows
• Currently unable to automate document creation, modification, renaming, or organization in Google Drive using Claude Co-Work
• The Google Drive Connector limitation makes it unsuitable as a replacement for this functionality

What Should Happen?

Claude Co-Work should be able to access, read, create, modify, rename, and organize files in any directory the user has permission to access on their system, including locally mounted Google Drive folders. File operations should not be artificially restricted to the home directory only.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Google Drive for Desktop on Windows 11 with local mounting (not streaming)
2. Mount a Google Drive folder locally (e.g., at C:\GoogleDrive or similar location)
3. Ensure the folder is accessible via File Explorer and other Windows applications
4. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Co-Work
5. Create a task that attempts to create, modify, or organize a file in the locally mounted Google Drive folder (e.g., "Create a new document at C:\GoogleDrive\MyFolder\test.txt")
6. Grant the necessary permissions when prompted
7. Observe that Claude Co-Work returns an error stating it can only interact with folders in the home directory
8. Attempt to use the Google Drive Connector instead for the same task
9. Observe that it cannot create/modify files—it can only read native Google Docs files

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.1.6041 (62e193) 2026-03-10T20:11:22.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Setup:

• Windows 11, all updates applied
• Claude Desktop with Claude Co-Work feature
• Google Drive for Desktop installed with local mounting (not streaming)
• Team plan user managing 20+ employees for business automation

Current Workaround Limitations:
The Google Drive Connector add-on was explored as a potential alternative but has significant limitations:

• Can only read files (no create, modify, rename, or organize operations)
• Appears to only work with native Google Docs files
• Cannot handle other file types
• Does not meet business workflow automation requirements

Business Context:
This restriction severely impacts business workflows. For a team of 20+ employees, the inability to automate file creation, modification, organization, and management in Google Drive using Claude Co-Work is a critical blocker for workflow automation. This forces teams to either:

1. Continue manual file management (inefficient)
2. Use alternative automation tools (additional cost and complexity)
3. Restructure workflows to fit within the home directory limitation (not practical for most business cases)