Desktop app: file:// markdown links open in in-app Browser panel even when 'Open links in Browser panel' is off
Status Fixed / completed
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 0 comments · opened Jul 20, 2026 · closed Jul 21, 2026
Environment
- Claude Code desktop app on macOS (Darwin 24.6)
- Settings → Claude Code → Browser: 'Open links in Browser panel' is toggled OFF (Browser tools ON)
Steps to reproduce
- In a session, have Claude output a markdown link whose href is a local file, e.g.
[report](file:///Users/<user>/some-report.html) - With 'Open links in Browser panel' disabled, click the link in the transcript
Expected
The link opens in the system default handler (default browser for HTML), matching the disabled setting — or at minimum offers copy/open-externally.
Actual
The link opens in the app's internal Browser panel, ignoring the 'Open links in Browser panel' = off setting. There is no obvious way to copy the URL instead, so users fall back to asking the assistant to print bare plain-text paths.
Impact
Users who prefer reviewing generated local HTML reports in their real browser (extensions, profiles, printing) cannot, and rendered markdown links become an anti-affordance for local files.