Desktop app: top-level "+ New" always prompts for a folder (regression, no longer remembers last working directory)
Description
In the Claude Code desktop app, clicking the top-level "+ New" now pops open a folder-selection dialog every time before I can type a prompt. Previously I could click "+ New" and immediately start asking questions, because the app reused my last-used working directory.
This is a regression in a recent desktop app update. It matches the now-closed/locked #46176 and #36175, which the auto-close bot asked users to re-file and reference.
Expected behavior
Clicking "+ New" should reuse the last-used working directory (or a configurable default) and let me type a prompt immediately, with no folder picker.
Current behavior
- Top-level "+ New" always opens a folder-selection dialog first.
- There is no per-project-group "New chat" button in my build, and the chat-header "⋮" menu (Artifacts, Files, Background tasks, Open in, Rename, Transcript view, Archive, Delete) has no "New chat" entry.
- So there is no way to start a new chat scoped to my project without re-selecting the folder each time.
Suggested fix
Persist the last-used working directory across sessions, or add a defaultWorkingDirectory setting, or restore a "New chat" action on the project group / chat header that inherits the current folder.
Environment
- Claude Code desktop app on Windows (WSL2 project directory)
- CLI works fine (inherits cwd from the terminal)
Related
- #46176 (closed, locked)
- #36175 (closed, locked)