[BUG] Desktop (Windows): Ctrl+click on a session opens a stuck popup window instead of split view — the "Open in → Split view" menu item works correctly
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?
Holding Ctrl and clicking a session in the sidebar does not open a split pane. It opens a separate top-level window containing the session, and that window:
cannot be moved — no draggable title bar, dragging does nothing
cannot be resized — no resize handles, edges are not grabbable
does not close with Ctrl+\, the documented shortcut for closing the focused pane
has no visible close affordance
The only way I found to dismiss it was Alt+F4, and I found that by trial and error.
The same action taken from the sidebar context menu — right-click the session, then Open in → Split view — works exactly as documented: a proper second pane inside the main window, closable with Ctrl+\. So split view itself is fine; the Ctrl+click handler appears to be wired to something different.
Impact is low severity but it is a poor first encounter with the feature: the documented shortcut is what users will reach for first, and it drops them into a window with no obvious way out.
What Should Happen?
Per the desktop documentation:
To view two sessions at once, hold Ctrl on Windows and click a session in the sidebar. The session opens in a second pane alongside the one you already have open.
Ctrl+click should open the selected session in a second pane inside the existing window, identical to the result of "Open in → Split view", and Ctrl+\ should close the focused pane.
If Ctrl+click is in fact intentionally mapped to a detach-to-new-window behavior rather than to split view, then the documentation above is wrong and should be corrected instead. Either way the resulting window should still be movable, resizable, and closable by normal means.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
- Open the Claude Code desktop app on Windows with at least two sessions listed in the sidebar.
- Hold Ctrl and click a session in the sidebar other than the one currently open.
- Observe: a separate window opens rather than a second pane. Try to move it, resize it, and close it with Ctrl+\ — none work. Alt+F4 closes it.
- For contrast, right-click the same session and choose Open in → Split view. Observe: the correct in-window split pane appears and Ctrl+\ closes it.
Claude Model
Not sure / Multiple models
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude 1.25927.0 (003700) 2026-08-04T05:34:55.000Z
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
May be related to:
#55764 (same menu, same platform, also a click-dispatch problem, closed as not planned)
#63895 (detached window with an unusable text caret, closed as not planned)
#60879 (Windows multi-window, closed as duplicate)
#27725 (detachable windows, open).