[BUG] Cowork (desktop app): permission/access requests only delivered to mobile app, never shown in desktop app

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?

In a Cowork session running in the Claude desktop app on macOS, all permission/approval requests (computer-use request_access, file-deletion permission) are delivered ONLY as push notifications to the Claude iOS app. No approval dialog ever appears in the desktop app on the Mac where the session is running — even though the user is sitting at that Mac.

Consequences observed in one session (2026-07-05):

• request_access for "Passwords" app: timed out after 180 s (user saw nothing on desktop). Identical retry succeeded immediately once the user approved on their phone.
• File-deletion permission requests: reported to the agent as "denied" twice (user never saw any prompt on desktop) — timeout is indistinguishable from an actual denial.
• request_access for "Finder": timed out after 180 s; user explicitly confirmed "I see no access request" while at the Mac. Retry succeeded via phone approval.

What Should Happen?

1. Approval dialogs should appear in the desktop app (or as a native macOS dialog) when the Cowork session is active on the desktop — mobile push should be a secondary/optional channel, not the only one.
2. At minimum, the desktop app should indicate that a request is pending elsewhere ("Check your phone").
3. A timeout should be reported to the agent as a timeout, not as an explicit denial.

Error Messages/Logs

MCP server "computer-use" tool "request_access" timed out after 180s
Permission to use mcp__cowork__allow_cowork_file_delete has been denied.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install the Claude iOS app and the Claude desktop app, signed in to the same account
2. Start a Cowork session in the desktop app on macOS
3. Ask Claude to do something requiring computer-use access (triggers request_access) or file deletion (triggers allow_cowork_file_delete)
4. Observe: no dialog appears on the desktop; a push notification is sent only to the phone
5. If the phone is not checked within ~180 s, the request fails (timeout, or "denied" for file deletion)

Reproduced 3 out of 3 times in the same session (2026-07-05, ~13:27–13:48 CEST). Each identical retry succeeded immediately once the user watched their phone.

Claude Model

Other

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.17377.1

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

• This is a Claude desktop app / Cowork issue (not CLI) — the "Terminal/Shell" and "Claude Code Version" fields below refer to the desktop app environment. Model in use: Claude Fable 5 (claude-fable-5).
• Detailed timeline attached (Bugreport_access_requests_2026-07-05.md).
• Possibly related feature discussions about remote approvals: #42686, #42693 — but note this report describes approvals being routed ONLY to mobile with no desktop fallback, which looks like a routing bug rather than a feature gap.
• Environment: macOS 26.5.1 (25F80), Claude desktop app (Cowork research preview), Claude iOS app installed on same account.

If this is reported in the incorrect place, please forgive my Claude Agent, as it was Claude that chose where to report this, and wrote the report. He is also responsible for the attachments down below.
I, the user, have only written this final, apologetic paragraph.

Bugreport_access_requests_2026-07-05.md

main.log