[BUG] Cowork web GUI unavailable on Linux -- only macOS and Windows supported

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?

The Cowork web GUI (browser-based interface) is only available on macOS and Windows. On Linux, there is no way to access the Cowork GUI -- the Claude Desktop app that hosts Cowork doesn't ship a Linux build.

Linux is the dominant platform for software development and server infrastructure. Excluding it from Cowork means a significant portion of the developer community -- arguably the most technical segment of Claude Code's user base -- cannot use the GUI workflow at all.

This is particularly notable because:

1. Claude Code CLI works perfectly on Linux: the underlying engine has full Linux support
2. The Cowork VM itself runs Linux: the sandboxed execution environment is already Linux-native
3. The web GUI is browser-based: there is no inherent technical reason it requires a native macOS/Windows wrapper
4. Issue #37925 shows Linux users are already trying to use Cowork and hitting VM download bugs, confirming demand exists

If the Cowork GUI is a web frontend communicating with a local backend, shipping a Linux-compatible launcher (or even just documenting how to run the backend directly) would make this work.

What Should Happen?

Cowork web GUI should be accessible on Linux, either via:

• A Linux build of Claude Desktop
• A standalone launcher for the Cowork backend + browser UI
• Documentation for running the Cowork GUI components directly

Error Messages/Logs

No error; the feature simply does not exist on Linux. There is no Claude Desktop package, no `.deb`/`.rpm`/`.AppImage`/Snap/Flatpak distribution, and no documented way to launch the Cowork web GUI backend independently of Claude Desktop.

The CLI `claude cowork` command exists but launches a terminal-based interactive session, not the browser GUI.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude Code CLI on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (or any Linux distribution)
2. Attempt to access the Cowork web GUI
3. No option exists: Claude Desktop is not available for Linux
4. Running claude cowork from the CLI launches an interactive terminal session, not the web GUI

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.81

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Linux desktop users (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.) represent a core demographic of Claude Code's target audience — developers and engineers who work from the terminal. Cowork's promise of a GUI-assisted agentic workflow is exactly what would benefit this audience, yet they're the ones excluded.