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Claude Code Issues / #37693

[BUG] [BUG] Cowork VM initialization fails — no resume mechanism for ~10GB download

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Mar 23, 2026 by m2arcode Closed Mar 26, 2026

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?

[BUG] Cowork VM environment initialization fails repeatedly — no resume/retry mechanism for ~10GB download

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • [x] This is a single bug report
  • [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Desktop

What's Wrong?

When Cowork initializes its Linux VM environment for the first time, it downloads approximately 10GB of data. This download frequently fails/interrupts due to:

  • Network instability
  • Large file size with no chunked/resumable download support
  • No progress indicator or estimated time remaining

When the download fails, there is no resume capability — the entire ~10GB download restarts from zero. This makes Cowork essentially unusable for users with less-than-perfect network conditions.

Expected Behavior

  • The VM download should support resumable downloads (HTTP range requests / chunked transfer)
  • A clear progress bar with percentage and estimated time should be displayed
  • If interrupted, the download should resume from where it left off, not restart
  • Consider offering a smaller base image with lazy loading of additional components
  • Optionally provide a standalone VM image download link so users can download via tools that support resume (e.g., wget, aria2, browser download managers)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Desktop (latest version)
  2. Switch to Cowork mode
  3. Cowork begins initializing the VM environment (~10GB download)
  4. If network interrupts during download, the process fails
  5. Retry → download starts from 0% again

Impact

  • Users paying $100-$200/month for Max subscription cannot use Cowork at all
  • This disproportionately affects users in regions with unstable internet connections
  • No workaround exists — there is no way to manually download or pre-install the VM image

Suggested Solutions (Priority Order)

  1. Resumable downloads — Most critical. Support HTTP range requests so interrupted downloads can continue.
  2. CDN distribution — Host VM images on a global CDN with edge nodes for faster regional downloads.
  3. Manual download option — Provide a direct URL for the VM image so users can use download managers (wget -c, aria2c, etc.) that natively support resume.
  4. Smaller initial image — Ship a minimal VM and download additional components on-demand.
  5. Torrent/P2P option — For very large files, consider BitTorrent distribution.

Environment

  • OS: [macOS / Windows]
  • Claude Desktop Version: [your version]
  • Subscription: Max
  • Network: [describe your network conditions]

What Should Happen?

[BUG] Cowork VM environment initialization fails repeatedly — no resume/retry mechanism for ~10GB download

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • [x] This is a single bug report
  • [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Desktop

What's Wrong?

When Cowork initializes its Linux VM environment for the first time, it downloads approximately 10GB of data. This download frequently fails/interrupts due to:

  • Network instability
  • Large file size with no chunked/resumable download support
  • No progress indicator or estimated time remaining

When the download fails, there is no resume capability — the entire ~10GB download restarts from zero. This makes Cowork essentially unusable for users with less-than-perfect network conditions.

Expected Behavior

  • The VM download should support resumable downloads (HTTP range requests / chunked transfer)
  • A clear progress bar with percentage and estimated time should be displayed
  • If interrupted, the download should resume from where it left off, not restart
  • Consider offering a smaller base image with lazy loading of additional components
  • Optionally provide a standalone VM image download link so users can download via tools that support resume (e.g., wget, aria2, browser download managers)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Desktop (latest version)
  2. Switch to Cowork mode
  3. Cowork begins initializing the VM environment (~10GB download)
  4. If network interrupts during download, the process fails
  5. Retry → download starts from 0% again

Impact

  • Users paying $100-$200/month for Max subscription cannot use Cowork at all
  • This disproportionately affects users in regions with unstable internet connections
  • No workaround exists — there is no way to manually download or pre-install the VM image

Suggested Solutions (Priority Order)

  1. Resumable downloads — Most critical. Support HTTP range requests so interrupted downloads can continue.
  2. CDN distribution — Host VM images on a global CDN with edge nodes for faster regional downloads.
  3. Manual download option — Provide a direct URL for the VM image so users can use download managers (wget -c, aria2c, etc.) that natively support resume.
  4. Smaller initial image — Ship a minimal VM and download additional components on-demand.
  5. Torrent/P2P option — For very large files, consider BitTorrent distribution.

Environment

  • OS: [macOS / Windows]
  • Claude Desktop Version: [your version]
  • Subscription: Max
  • Network: [describe your network conditions]

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

OKOK

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.0.23

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

[BUG] Cowork VM environment initialization fails repeatedly — no resume/retry mechanism for ~10GB download

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • [x] This is a single bug report
  • [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Desktop

What's Wrong?

When Cowork initializes its Linux VM environment for the first time, it downloads approximately 10GB of data. This download frequently fails/interrupts due to:

  • Network instability
  • Large file size with no chunked/resumable download support
  • No progress indicator or estimated time remaining

When the download fails, there is no resume capability — the entire ~10GB download restarts from zero. This makes Cowork essentially unusable for users with less-than-perfect network conditions.

Expected Behavior

  • The VM download should support resumable downloads (HTTP range requests / chunked transfer)
  • A clear progress bar with percentage and estimated time should be displayed
  • If interrupted, the download should resume from where it left off, not restart
  • Consider offering a smaller base image with lazy loading of additional components
  • Optionally provide a standalone VM image download link so users can download via tools that support resume (e.g., wget, aria2, browser download managers)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Desktop (latest version)
  2. Switch to Cowork mode
  3. Cowork begins initializing the VM environment (~10GB download)
  4. If network interrupts during download, the process fails
  5. Retry → download starts from 0% again

Impact

  • Users paying $100-$200/month for Max subscription cannot use Cowork at all
  • This disproportionately affects users in regions with unstable internet connections
  • No workaround exists — there is no way to manually download or pre-install the VM image

Suggested Solutions (Priority Order)

  1. Resumable downloads — Most critical. Support HTTP range requests so interrupted downloads can continue.
  2. CDN distribution — Host VM images on a global CDN with edge nodes for faster regional downloads.
  3. Manual download option — Provide a direct URL for the VM image so users can use download managers (wget -c, aria2c, etc.) that natively support resume.
  4. Smaller initial image — Ship a minimal VM and download additional components on-demand.
  5. Torrent/P2P option — For very large files, consider BitTorrent distribution.

Environment

  • OS: [macOS / Windows]
  • Claude Desktop Version: [your version]
  • Subscription: Max
  • Network: [describe your network conditions]

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