Desktop: file paths outside the working directory no longer open inline ("This file is outside the working directory" → Show in Finder) — regression after update

Environment

• Claude Desktop (macOS), version 1.17377.2 (e0ea9e) (build 2026-07-01)
• Working directory: a code repository
• File being opened: a markdown file outside the repo, e.g. ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/<file>.md

Summary

After a recent Claude Desktop update, clicking a file path/link in the chat that points to a file outside the current working directory no longer opens or previews it inline. Instead the File Pane shows:

This file is outside the working directory. It can't be opened here, but it may still exist on disk. /Users/<me>/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/<file>.md [ Show in Finder ]

Before this update, such files opened/previewed inline in the File Pane. This is a regression, and it makes files that Claude itself writes/references (e.g. the auto-memory files under ~/.claude/projects/.../memory/) impossible to read inside the app.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a session whose working directory is some code repo.
2. Have the assistant reference/link a file that lives outside that directory (e.g. a memory file at ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/foo.md).
3. Click the file link in chat.
4. The File Pane shows "This file is outside the working directory… Show in Finder" instead of an inline preview.

Expected

The file opens/previews inline in the File Pane (as it did before the update), or there is a documented setting to allow previewing files in specific external directories.

Actual

Inline preview is blocked for any path outside the working directory; only a "Show in Finder" button is offered.

Notes

• Agent tools (Read / Edit / Bash) operate on the exact same path without issue — only the File Pane link-resolver blocks it. So it's a client-side File Pane restriction, not a permission/tool problem.
• additionalDirectories / /add-dir extend agent file access but do not re-enable the File Pane preview for those directories.
• Regression: this previously worked (inline preview).

Related

• #65628 — macOS: "Open in → Finder" on a file link does nothing
• #61443 — (closed as duplicate) "File could not be read… outside the session folder" while tools work
• #51331 — Desktop/SSH: same "outside the session folder" File Pane error