[BUG] [BUG] [Cowork] Computer-use: Apple system apps (Calendar, Mail, Finder) not discoverable — return "not_installed"

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

• Claude for Mac (Cowork mode)
• macOS 15 / Apple Silicon
• Spotlight indexing: enabled
• Accessibility + Screen Recording: granted

Problem
request_access returns "not_installed" for Apple's built-in system apps,
even though they are installed and running. Third-party apps work fine.

Apps tested (all fail)

• Calendar / com.apple.iCal
• Mail / com.apple.mail
• Finder / com.apple.finder

Likely root cause
Apple's bundled apps are installed in /System/Applications/ (and
/System/Applications/Utilities/), not /Applications/. If the computer-use
app enumeration only scans /Applications/, system apps will never appear in
the allowlist — regardless of whether they're running.

Impact
Blocks common automation workflows: reading Calendar for daily briefings,
scanning Mail for triage, interacting with Finder for file operations.
These are among the most frequent macOS apps users would want to automate.

Related

• #38339 — similar discovery failure for Unity Editor (LSBackgroundOnly flag
• nested install path)
• #38225 — request_access returning "not_installed" for all apps (different

root cause: Spotlight indexing disabled; resolved)

Suggested fix
Also scan /System/Applications/ and /System/Applications/Utilities/
during app enumeration, or fall back to checking running processes with
visible windows when Launch Services enumeration misses an app.

What Should Happen?

Cowork should be able to access Apple system apps

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Ask cowork to use computer to access Apple system apps

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.1.9493 (b58a0b) 2026-03-29T03:33:07.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_