[BUG] Another program is currently using this file (AFTER UPDATE)
Status Closed — duplicate
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 20 comments · opened Apr 22, 2026 · closed May 19, 2026
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?
This is now the second update this has happened with... unless I restart my computer I can't reboot claude @anthropic-xabi @ah-anthropic @km-anthropic @np-anthropic it keeps giving me an error
What Should Happen?
Claude should restart without issues
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
Idk just restarting claude lately has caused these issues
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
Before the previous update
Claude Code Version
Latest
Platform
Other
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
With Claude Desktop app this happens when it closes, I get another program is currenlty using this file error. Nothing fixes it except restart.
<img width="512" height="240" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0f729324-1f7f-4085-bb95-c7a7cb2f9be4" />
20 Comments
Last 2 updates have caused this. I just updated to your exact same version.
It would be nice to have a list of items to display so I don't have to kill processes using a file.
If it is not the intent to allow the user/claude to continue working on what they were previously doing, then a user confirm window popup should be displayed that informs the user that any work in progress will need to be killed and resumed post update.
Duplicate of #42776
<img width="262" height="93" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/706756e0-d997-47b9-b9d2-879d4f358322" /> I get this all time, each update in Windows 11 Desktop is hit or miss
Exactly the same, different computers, same problem.
the same on each update.
it is annoying a lot.
It's caused by the Cowork service, I believe. Killing processes and stopping services doesn't help. Super annoying. Please fix.
@github-actions @kutzki this is a duplicate of #42776
This could be closed with a reference to #42776
"Can this be fixed ASAP? Doesn’t anyone at Anthropic actually use this? Or is everyone there on a Mac and nobody uses Windows?"
I'm still getting this error as of today. Please let's get this fixed!
for me it was a tail.exe that got stuck, used handle64 to find it
I managed to get around this by killing any node.exe processes on win11.
this issue has been around for 2 months and encountered by nearly every single windows user, same error after every single update for past 10 updates and still not addressed?
I have been getting this for weeks on windows, would appreciate a fix!
When I restart the PC it is gone but yes it's annoying
+1 just hit this
taskkill /F /IM powershell.exe /T here is a fix
taskkill /F /IM pwsh.exe /T
I encountered the issue yesterday on an update. I killed the Claude tasks in taskbar as well as in procmon/procex, I could see the process get killed, and I would get the error upon restarting the app. After restarting the computer it would launch, but after an update today I ran into the same issue.
I'd prefer not to kill powershell because I have active servers running through it.
<img width="347" height="121" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0344ec84-36ce-4d21-bff7-0b6c73761215" />
Please email me on my account, ref: https://claude.ai/chat/7951cbb0-1526-48ed-bd6c-b5f816a221d7