[BUG] Cannot open Claude Code's own worktrees from Desktop project picker — they live in hidden `.claude/worktrees/` which the macOS folder dialog won't show
Summary
Claude Code Desktop puts worktrees it creates at .claude/worktrees/<name>/. That path is hidden from the macOS folder-picker dialog by default because .claude starts with a dot. So when the natural workaround for a broken EnterWorktree (see #60624) is "just open the worktree as a Claude Code project from the project picker," users literally cannot — the picker dialog doesn't expose dotfiles, and even with Cmd+Shift+. toggled some users can't reliably navigate in.
The result: a worktree that Claude Code itself created, in a path Claude Code itself chose, is unreachable from Claude Code's own UI.
Reproduction
- From any Claude Code surface (CLI works), call
EnterWorktreeto create a worktree — e.g.my-feature-branch. Claude Code creates it at<repo>/.claude/worktrees/my-feature-branch/. - Exit that session.
- Open Claude Code Desktop.
- Try to add
<repo>/.claude/worktrees/my-feature-branch/as a project. The folder picker dialog defaults to hidden-files-off, so.claude/is invisible. Even afterCmd+Shift+.the navigation experience is poor and several Electron/native picker combinations refuse to descend into dot-prefixed parents.
Why this is a real problem (not a user-error)
The two failure modes compound:
EnterWorktreecan't attach to an existing worktree (#60624 — regression of #45024).- The "just open it as a project" fallback is blocked by the dotfile convention.
Together these mean: if you create a worktree in one Claude Code session and exit before committing, there is no in-product way to get back into it. Your only recourses are: rebuild the worktree (destroys uncommitted work), edit the worktree files via the main-repo cwd by absolute path (defeats the whole point of worktree-aware UI), or quit and relaunch from a terminal that's already cd'd into the worktree (defeats the whole point of Desktop).
Suggested fix (pick one or all)
- Dedicated worktree picker in Desktop, not a file picker. Claude Code already knows where it put worktrees — for any project it's opened, it can enumerate
<repo>/.claude/worktrees/*and present them as a first-class list ("Open existing worktree…"). No file picker needed. This is the right fix. - Folder picker should default to showing hidden directories when launched from Claude Code, since Claude Code's own state lives under
.claude/and users shouldn't have to know macOS keybindings to access it. - Stop putting worktrees in a hidden directory. Move the default to
<repo>/worktrees/or<repo>/.worktrees/only as opt-in. Related: #48967 (same root cause — hidden.claude/breaks other discovery flows).
Option 1 is the cleanest and doesn't require users to learn macOS Finder trivia.
Environment
- Claude Code Desktop 2.1.144
- macOS 26.3.1 (arm64)
Related
- #60624 —
EnterWorktreeregression: errors instead of attaching when worktree exists. With that fixed, this issue would be far less acute (you wouldn't need the file-picker fallback in most cases). But it'd still bite the "I closed Desktop and want to re-open into the worktree directly" workflow. - #48967 —
EnterWorktreeputs worktrees inside.claude/, breaking skill/slash-command discovery. Same root cause (.claude/is the wrong parent dir for user-visible artifacts), different symptom. - #45024 — original issue that #60624 regresses.
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