Inline images don't render — only an empty file chip appears, click does nothing

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jun 18, 2026 by webtask-eu Closed Jun 24, 2026

Description

When Claude attempts to display an image inline in the chat (e.g. a generated PNG sent into the conversation), the image does not render. Instead only a file chip is shown (a "PNG" icon + filename + size, e.g. example.png — 963 B). Clicking the chip does nothing — there is no image preview and nothing opens.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Have Claude generate/send an image file into the chat (e.g. a small PNG).
  2. Observe the message: a file chip appears but no inline image preview.
  3. Click the chip — nothing opens.

Expected

The image renders inline (or opens a preview on click).

Actual

An empty file chip is shown, no image is rendered, and clicking it does nothing.

Environment

  • Claude Code on Windows 11
  • Model: Opus 4.8
  • The file was a valid ~963 B PNG, confirmed openable in other apps outside Claude Code.

Notes

This looks like a client-side rendering bug rather than a problem with the file itself — the same PNG opens fine outside the app. As a workaround, embedding the image as an inline base64 <img> via a rendered HTML widget DID display correctly, so the issue appears specific to the file-attachment / chip rendering path.

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