[BUG] Claude Desktop app (macOS): sidebar completely empty — no chats, projects or history shown

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?

Note: This bug is in the Claude Desktop app, not Claude Code. The Anthropic support bot (Fin) directed me to file it here.

The sidebar in the Claude Desktop app on macOS is completely empty. No chats, projects, or conversation history appear at all. The app opens and I can log in, but the sidebar shows nothing.

The same account works perfectly on claude.ai in the browser — all history and projects are visible there.

What Should Happen?

The sidebar should display all conversation history, projects, and chats associated with the logged-in account — exactly as they appear on claude.ai in the browser.

Error Messages/Logs

No error messages displayed in the app. Console.app (macOS) showed nothing relevant related to this issue.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Desktop app on macOS
2. 2. Log in with account (same account that works on claude.ai)
3. 3. Observe that the sidebar is completely empty — no chats, no projects, no history
4. 4. Open claude.ai in browser with the same account → all history and projects appear normally

Troubleshooting already attempted (none resolved the issue):

• Logout and login again in the desktop app
• - Cleared ~/Library/Application Support/Claude folder
• - - Full uninstall of the app
• - - - Restarted Mac
• - - - - Reinstalled Claude Desktop app

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude Desktop 1.3109.0 (35cbf6) — macOS 26.3 (25D125)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Important: This is a Claude Desktop app bug, not a Claude Code bug. The Anthropic support bot (Fin) directed me to file here as the only available channel.

• Claude Desktop app version: 1.3109.0 (35cbf6)
• - macOS version: 26.3 (25D125)
• - - The web app (claude.ai) works perfectly with the same account
• - - - No VPN in use
• - - - - Sidebar is empty immediately after login — no loading spinner, no error message
• - - - - - Issue persists across fresh installs