Cowork on macOS 26.4.1: "Failed to create bridge sockets after 5 attempts" — every new session exits code 1 after desktop 1.3036.0 update

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?

What's Wrong?

After auto-updating Claude desktop to 1.3036.0 on April 16, 2026, every new Cowork session spawns successfully then crashes within ~900ms with exit code 1. Chat mode in desktop works fine. Claude Code CLI works fine. Only Cowork is affected. 100% reproducible.

Environment

• Claude desktop: 1.3036.0 (auto-updated today, started the bug)
• Claude Code: 2.1.111 (native install)
• macOS: 26.4.1, build 25E253 (Tahoe)
• Hardware: Mac Studio, Apple Silicon

Error from cowork_vm_node.log

What Should Happen?

Reproduction

100% reliable on any new Cowork session. VM boots cleanly, guest connects, network reaches REACHABLE, SDK 2.1.111 installs, OAuth passes MITM proxy, then bridge sockets fail.

Troubleshooting already completed (none resolved)

• claude doctor — all clean
• Renamed ~/.claude/
• Deleted sessiondata.img
• Deleted entire ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles/ (full VM rebuild)
• Deleted ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/
• Cleared ~/Library/Caches/Claude/
• Raised maxfiles ulimit from 256 to 524288 via LaunchDaemon, verified post-reboot
• Multiple reboots between steps
• Confirmed no VPN, proxy, Little Snitch, or network filtering
• Confirmed no zombie processes

Expected vs Actual

Expected: Cowork session launches and accepts prompts.
Actual: Instant crash with exit code 1.

Possibly related

#36419 (macOS Tahoe Cowork VM boot issue)

Willing to provide full logs on request.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Reproduction

100% reliable on any new Cowork session. VM boots cleanly, guest connects, network reaches REACHABLE, SDK 2.1.111 installs, OAuth passes MITM proxy, then bridge sockets fail.

Troubleshooting already completed (none resolved)

• claude doctor — all clean
• Renamed ~/.claude/
• Deleted sessiondata.img
• Deleted entire ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles/ (full VM rebuild)
• Deleted ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/
• Cleared ~/Library/Caches/Claude/
• Raised maxfiles ulimit from 256 to 524288 via LaunchDaemon, verified post-reboot
• Multiple reboots between steps
• Confirmed no VPN, proxy, Little Snitch, or network filtering
• Confirmed no zombie processes

Expected vs Actual

Expected: Cowork session launches and accepts prompts.
Actual: Instant crash with exit code 1.

Possibly related

#36419 (macOS Tahoe Cowork VM boot issue)

Willing to provide full logs on request.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.111

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_