[BUG] Claude Desktop (Windows) update process requires manual process killing and a reboot

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?

Updating Claude Desktop on Windows is significantly rougher than comparable apps. For contrast, Cursor's updater is seamless — it downloads in the background, prompts once, and relaunches into the new version.

Every Claude Desktop update, I go through roughly this:

Update prompt appears, app attempts to update.
Update fails or hangs because background tasks/processes are still running.
I have to open Task Manager and manually kill the leftover Claude processes.
I have to run the installer manually to get the new version applied.
Usually I still have to restart the PC before the new version will launch successfully.

What Should Happen?

What I'd expect: the updater shuts down its own child processes (or asks me to let it), applies the update, and relaunches — no Task Manager, no manual installer run, no reboot.

Environment: Windows 11 Enterprise 10.0.26100, Claude Desktop.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1) Click the Relaunch to update button.
2) Suffer through all of the above to get the new version to open.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.30096.5.0

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

_No response_