[BUG] [Desktop][Linux] App fails to connect after update via KDE Discover — "Couldn't connect to Claude / network redirected to www.anthropic.com"
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?
Environment:
Platform: Linux Desktop (official apt/.deb build, not Snap)
Distro: Ubuntu 24.04 (KDE Plasma desktop environment)
Session type: X11
Claude Desktop version: 1.22209.0
Install source: https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-desktop/apt/stable
What's Wrong?
After the app was updated via KDE Discover (PackageKit-based software center) rather than a manual apt upgrade, the app stopped connecting entirely. On every launch it showed:
"Couldn't connect to Claude — Your network redirected this request to www.anthropic.com. Contact your IT administrator."
Troubleshooting already done (network was ruled out):
nslookup/dig for api.anthropic.com returned identical, correct results via both the local resolver (127.0.0.53) and 1.1.1.1 — no DNS hijacking.
/etc/hosts had no relevant entries.
curl -v https://api.anthropic.com/ completed a normal TLS handshake with a valid certificate (issued to api.anthropic.com, verified OK).
dpkg -l / apt policy claude-desktop confirmed the installed package (1.22209.0) came from the correct official repo, no third-party source.
Since DNS, TLS, and the package source were all confirmed clean, the issue was not actually a network redirect — the error message appears to be misleading in this case.
What fixed it:
Renaming/removing the app's config directory resolved the issue immediately:
bashmv ~/.config/Claude ~/.config/Claude.bak
After that, the app connected normally. I then restored just two subfolders from the backup (claude-code-sessions and claude-code) back into the fresh ~/.config/Claude, and the app continued to work fine with all Code sessions intact. So the corrupted state seems to be isolated to some other file/subfolder directly inside ~/.config/Claude (not the sessions themselves), likely written or left in a bad state by the Discover-driven update.
Steps to reproduce (best guess):
Install claude-desktop via the official apt repo.
Let KDE Discover (rather than apt upgrade) apply an update to a newer version.
Launch the app — connection fails with the misleading "network redirected" error, even though DNS/TLS/network are all healthy.
Expected behavior:
The update process (regardless of whether triggered via Discover/PackageKit or apt) shouldn't leave the app in a state where it can't connect.
Separately, the error message shown to the user is misleading when the actual cause is local corrupted app state rather than a network redirect — worth revisiting the error detection logic so it doesn't point users toward "contact your IT administrator" for what looks like a local caching/config bug.
Workaround: Move ~/.config/Claude aside, relaunch (fixes connectivity), then copy back claude-code-sessions (and optionally claude-code) from the backup to preserve Code tab sessions.
What Should Happen?
Should have started up as usual after update
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
updated via KDE Discover (PackageKit-based software center) rather than a manual apt upgrade
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
1.22209.0
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Ubuntu/Debian Linux
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
_No response_