AskUserQuestion never returns a tool_result in Claude Desktop app (claude-desktop / LocalSessions)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues — this is the same class of bug as the open reports below; filing/keeping a focused report for the claude-desktop embedded-session surface with fresh transcript + log evidence.
• [x] This is a single bug report.
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code.

Related issues

• #65330 — Desktop (Cowork / local agent mode), macOS: AskUserQuestion never renders; regression since ~2026-06-03. (canonical)
• #81607 — Desktop macOS host sessions: permission request never emitted, orphans the tool_use, aborts the turn. (I added an independent reproduction there)
• #74797 — Desktop + VS Code: widget never renders, returns [Tool result missing due to internal error].
• #72624 (closed) — same error in the VS Code panel webview.

What's Wrong?

Description

In a Claude Code session embedded in the Claude Desktop app (entrypoint: "claude-desktop", LocalSessions / CCD), every AskUserQuestion call is invoked but never returns a tool_result. No interactive menu ever renders. The harness then injects the synthetic error [Tool result missing due to internal error] and the turn ends.

The same prompt works correctly in a real terminal claude session — the interactive picker renders and returns the selected option. So the failure is specific to the desktop-app embedded surface, not the CLI itself.

Evidence (transcript + logs)

• The AskUserQuestion tool_use block is present in the session JSONL with a valid input, but no matching tool_result is ever persisted — the pair simply does not exist.
• At the exact call timestamp, ~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log shows no exception / stack trace at the tool-handling layer and zero AskUserQuestion / permission entries — consistent with the permission request never being emitted (cf. #81607). The result just never returns.
• Reproduced 2/2 times in this session, including after the app picked up a newer bundled build.

What Should Happen?

The AskUserQuestion widget should render with its selectable options, let the user pick an answer (or "Other" to type a custom one), and return that answer to the model as a tool_result so the conversation continues — exactly as it does in a terminal claude session.

Error Messages/Logs

[Tool result missing due to internal error]

• No stack trace or exception in ~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log at the tool-handling layer during the call window.
• Session JSONL: AskUserQuestion tool_use present, matching tool_result absent.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a Claude Code session inside the Claude Desktop app (embedded local session, entrypoint: claude-desktop).
2. Prompt: Me faça uma pergunta de múltipla escolha usando a tool AskUserQuestion. (any prompt that triggers AskUserQuestion works).
3. The model calls AskUserQuestion.
4. Observe: no menu renders; the model receives [Tool result missing due to internal error]. Consistent, not intermittent.
5. Control: run the identical prompt in a terminal claude session → interactive menu renders and returns the choice correctly.

Claude Model

Opus (claude-opus-4-8)

Is this a regression?

Yes — reported broken since ~2026-06-03 in #65330 (worked reliably before that on the same surface).

Last Working Version

Unknown exact CLI version; the desktop embedded surface worked before ~2026-06-03 per #65330.

Claude Code Version

App-embedded CLI: 2.1.219 · installed CLI binary: 2.1.220 (version skew — the app ships an older bundled CLI than the globally installed one).

Platform

Claude Desktop app — embedded local session (entrypoint: claude-desktop, LocalSessions / CCD).

Operating System

macOS (Darwin 25.6.0), Apple Silicon.

Terminal/Shell

zsh (desktop-app embedded session, not a real TTY). Node v22.23.1.

Additional Information

The bug is confined to interactive, client-rendered tools: non-interactive tools (Bash, Read, Edit, …) work normally in the same session because they don't depend on the picker UI / permission-prompt round-trip. Only AskUserQuestion (and similar client-rendered prompts) fail.

Suggested labels

bug · platform:macos · area:desktop · area:cowork · regression — matching #65330. (Filed by an external contributor without label permissions; flagging for triage.)