Detached/pop-out windows ignore zoom level and Cmd+/- doesn't work on them

Open 💬 3 comments Opened May 26, 2026 by mannyb223

Description

When popping out a conversation into a separate/detached window, the new window uses the default zoom level (scale 0 / 100%) regardless of the main window's zoom setting. The text appears noticeably smaller than the main app window.

Cmd+/- does not work on detached windows — pressing these shortcuts while a detached window is focused changes the zoom on the main window instead, leaving the detached window stuck at default zoom with no way to adjust it.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open Claude Desktop (macOS, v1.8555)
  2. Zoom in on the main window using Cmd+ a few times
  3. Pop out / detach a conversation into a separate window
  4. Observe: detached window text is much smaller than the main window
  5. Focus the detached window and press Cmd+ — the main window zooms instead

Expected behavior

  • Detached windows should inherit the current zoom level from the main window
  • Cmd+/- should control zoom on whichever window is currently focused

Root cause

In the WindowManager module, defaultWindowOptions does not set zoomFactor:

defaultWindowOptions: () => ({
  backgroundColor: xF(),
  webPreferences: {
    preload: ".vite/build/mainView.js",
    backgroundThrottling: false
  }
})

And the Cmd+/- handler targets le.webContents (the main window's WebContentsView) rather than BrowserWindow.getFocusedWindow().webContents.

Suggested fix

  1. Pass zoomFactor: mainWindow.webContents.getZoomFactor() in defaultWindowOptions when creating pop-out windows
  2. Change the Cmd+/- handler to target the focused window's webContents instead of hardcoding the main window

Environment

  • macOS (Apple Silicon)
  • Claude Desktop v1.8555
  • Multiple external monitors (though reproducible on single display too)

Screenshots

Main window (zoomed in) vs detached window (stuck at default):

The main app window has comfortable, readable text. Detached windows have noticeably smaller text with no way to adjust.

View original on GitHub ↗

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