[Cowork] Sandbox disk stuck at 100% full, not cleared by app or PC restart
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?
The Cowork sandbox disk is stuck at 100% full. Any bash or Python command fails with "No space left on device". This persists across new chats, full app restarts (including killing background processes via Task Manager), and full Windows PC restarts.
df -h inside the sandbox shows:
- /dev/sdc mounted at /sessions: 9.3G used of 9.8G, 0 available, 100% full
- - /dev/sda1 mounted at /: 8.8G used of 9.6G, 93% full
du -sh /sessions only shows 11MB of visible data. 9.3GB is invisible to the user and not clearable from within the sandbox. ls /sessions/ shows 371 leftover session folders going back to 4 May 2026.
What Should Happen?
The Cowork sandbox disk should clear between sessions so bash and Python commands work again. Starting a new chat or restarting the app should reset the sandbox to empty, with disk space available for new commands.
Error Messages/Logs
$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdc 9.8G 9.3G 0 100% /sessions
/dev/sda1 9.6G 8.8G 756M 93% /
$ du -sh /sessions
11M /sessions
$ ls /sessions/ | wc -l
371
Any bash/Python command fails with: bash: cannot create temp file for here-document: No space left on device
Steps to Reproduce
- Open Claude Cowork (Windows desktop app, research preview)
- 2. Start a new chat in any project
- 3. Ask Claude to run
df -hin the sandbox - 4. Observe: /dev/sdc mounted at /sessions shows 9.3G used of 9.8G, 100% full, 0 available
- 5. Try any bash or Python command - all fail with "No space left on device"
- 6. Close the app completely (including background processes via Task Manager)
- 7. Reopen Claude Cowork, start a new chat
- 8. Run
df -hagain - still 100% full - 9. Restart the entire Windows PC
- 10. Reopen Claude Cowork, start a new chat
- 11. Run
df -hagain - still 100% full
Note: du -sh /sessions shows only 11MB of visible data, meaning 9.3GB is held by the system and cannot be cleared from within the sandbox. There are 371 leftover session folders in /sessions/ going back to 4 May 2026.
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude Cowork (Windows desktop app, research preview - not Claude Code CLI)
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Windows Terminal
Additional Information
Important context: This is Claude Cowork (research preview mode in the Windows desktop app), NOT Claude Code CLI. These are different products with different sandbox architectures.
Impact: Scheduled automation workflows that rely on Python-based skills (Excel, Word, PDF, screenshots) are completely blocked. Specifically a workflow called "Solve Migration" that updates Excel files and saves screenshots to SharePoint.
User: Christian Madsen, 11 Recruitment, Perth, Western Australia
Contact: cmadsen@11recruitment.com.au
What we need:
Either clear the stuck Cowork sandbox storage on the backend for this account, or document the specific file or folder that can be safely deleted on Windows to force a sandbox reset without losing memory files, projects, skills, or chat history.
Anthropic support has been contacted multiple times but was unable to resolve this as the Cowork sandbox documentation is separate from Claude Code documentation.
This issue has 4 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗