Feature request: platform-level shared package caching for Cowork sessions

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Running 3-4 concurrent Cowork sessions (deal pipelines, health dashboards, scheduled tasks) fills the 9.7 GB workspace disk regularly. Each session independently installs the same base packages (Node, Python, common npm/pip libraries), eating ~381 MB per session -- mostly in dependencies, not data.

The "clean up" option works short-term but triggers a reinstall loop: clean up → reopen session → reinstall same packages → disk fills again within days. Power users running persistent workflows hit this ceiling constantly.

Proposed Solution

Platform-level shared package caching -- common base packages (Node, Python, popular npm/pip libraries) cached once and shared across all Cowork sessions instead of installed fresh per session.

This would significantly cut per-session disk footprint and eliminate the clean up → reinstall → clean up loop that power users hit constantly. If the shared runtime took care of the common stuff, each session would only need to install its unique dependencies.

Alternative Solutions

Currently using the persistent data directory workaround (persisting node_modules in a plugin's persistent dir and only reinstalling when package.json changes). This helps per-plugin but doesn't address duplication across sessions. The other option is just hitting "clean up" on the disk warning regularly, which triggers the reinstall loop.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

1. I open Cowork and start a session for my AXOL deal pipeline (scraping + data processing)
2. I open a second session for a health dashboard (chart/visualization libraries)
3. I open a third session for scheduled tasks (various npm/pip deps)
4. Each session independently installs Node, Python, and overlapping npm/pip packages -- ~381 MB each
5. Within a few days the 9.7 GB disk is full and I get a "workspace disk nearly full" warning
6. I hit "clean up" which wipes working files from inactive sessions
7. Next time I open those sessions, they reinstall all the same packages from scratch
8. Repeat every few days

With shared package caching, steps 4-8 would be eliminated. Common packages would already be available and each session would only install its unique deps.

Additional Context

This is specifically about Cowork mode in the Claude Desktop app, not Claude Code CLI. The 9.7 GB workspace disk quota is shared across all active Cowork sessions. Power users running multiple persistent workflows (deal pipelines, dashboards, scheduled tasks) hit the ceiling regularly.

Anthropic support confirmed this should be filed as a feature request and directed me here.