[Cowork Desktop] Stale session cache path persists in project sidebar with no option to remove it

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?

aIn the Claude Cowork desktop app (Research Preview) on Windows 11, the project sidebar displays an "On your computer" section that references a session cache path inside the app's AppData directory. Once a session ends and the app cleans up that cache, the sidebar entry becomes stale — it still appears but points to a path that no longer exists on disk.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open the Cowork desktop app on Windows 11
2. 2. Open a project that has a linked workspace folder
3. 3. Complete a session (cache gets cleaned up by the app)
4. 4. Start a new session — the "On your computer" entry in the project sidebar is still visible
5. 5. Click the entry → Windows error dialog appears, referencing a non-existent AppData session cache path

Actual behavior:

• The stale reference persists indefinitely in the sidebar
• - Clicking it triggers a Windows error (path not found)
• - - The context menu (three-dot menu) for that entry only offers "Unlink project", which would remove the entire project link — there is no targeted option to remove just the stale cache reference
• - - - There is no way to dismiss the stale entry without unlinking the whole project

What Should Happen?

aEither:

1. The app automatically removes stale session cache references from the sidebar when a session ends and the cache is cleaned up, OR
2. 2. The user is given a UI option (e.g., a dedicated "Remove" or "X" button) to dismiss the stale entry from the sidebar without affecting the overall project link

Error Messages/Logs

aWindows error dialog appears when clicking the stale sidebar entry. The error references a path of the form:
%APPDATA%\Claude\local-agent-mode-sess-[session-id]\project-cache

This path does not exist because the session cache has already been cleaned up. The AppData\Roaming\Claude directory itself does not exist on the system — only AppData\Local\Claude (containing a Logs folder) is present.

Steps to Reproduce

a1. Open the Claude Cowork desktop app (Research Preview) on Windows 11

1. Open a project that has a linked workspace folder on disk
2. 3. Use the app for a session, then close it (the session cache gets cleaned up)
3. 4. Reopen the app and navigate to the same project
4. 5. Observe the project sidebar — the "On your computer" entry still appears
5. 6. Click the entry → a Windows error dialog appears referencing a non-existent AppData session cache path

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude Cowork desktop app (Research Preview) — exact version not available in UI

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

Note: This bug is specific to the Claude Cowork desktop app (Research Preview), not the Claude Code CLI. The app runs on Windows 11 using msedgewebview2.exe as its underlying process.

Additional observations:

• The AppData\Roaming\Claude directory does not exist on this system — the app appears to reference it in the sidebar entry even though it was never created, or was cleaned up without removing the reference
• - Only AppData\Local\Claude exists (containing a Logs folder)
• - - The workspace folder linked to the project exists correctly on disk — the issue is only with the session cache reference, not the workspace folder itself
• - - - The Fin AI Agent on support.claude.com incorrectly routed this UI bug to the HackerOne VDP form (security vulnerabilities only) — worth noting for improving the support bot's routing logic