/desktop fails to detect Claude Desktop installed in ~/Applications/
Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Apr 1, 2026 by LikiosSedo Closed May 26, 2026
Bug
/desktop command says "The desktop app is required for /desktop" even though Claude Desktop is installed and running.
Root Cause
Claude Desktop is installed at ~/Applications/Claude.app (user-level Applications folder), but the detection logic appears to only check /Applications/Claude.app (system-level).
On macOS, apps installed via drag-and-drop or certain installers can end up in ~/Applications/ instead of /Applications/. This is a valid install location.
Steps to Reproduce
- Install Claude Desktop to
~/Applications/(e.g., via the DMG installer when choosing user-level install) - Run
/desktopin Claude Code CLI - CLI reports "The desktop app is required for /desktop"
Expected Behavior
/desktop should detect Claude Desktop in both /Applications/ and ~/Applications/.
Environment
- macOS 15.6 (24G84)
- Claude Code 2.1.89
- Claude Desktop installed at
~/Applications/Claude.app
Suggested Fix
Check both paths:
const possiblePaths = [
'/Applications/Claude.app',
path.join(os.homedir(), 'Applications', 'Claude.app'),
];
const installed = possiblePaths.some(p => fs.existsSync(p));
Or use mdfind for a more robust detection:
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'com.anthropic.claude'" 2>/dev/nullThis issue has 2 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗