Claude Desktop: unexpected re-authentication when switching between Chat and Code tabs
Summary
Claude Desktop repeatedly prompts for re-login when switching between the Code tab and the Chat tab, with no idle period, no manual logout, and no app restart involved. Session is lost mid-session, mid-interaction.
Environment
- OS: Ubuntu 26.04 (Linux), ThinkPad (Intel i7-12800H)
- Claude Desktop version: [Help -> About / Check for Updates]
- Session type: Claude.ai OAuth / Max subscription
- Network: reproduced on home WiFi, no VPN/ZTNA in the path (rules out corporate tunnel / idle-timeout theories)
- Also observed: separate, less frequent re-login prompts on mobile app (Android/iOS) under normal use, not correlated in time with desktop occurrences
Steps to Reproduce
- Open Claude Desktop, use Chat tab normally for a while (authenticated, working session)
- Switch to Code tab, work there
- Switch back to Chat tab (or vice versa)
- App unexpectedly shows the login screen - no prior logout, no restart, no extended idle period
Expected Behavior
Chat and Code tabs share a single valid session; switching between them should never require re-authentication mid-session.
Actual Behavior
Switching tabs intermittently invalidates the current session, forcing a full re-login.
Hypothesis
Chat tab and Code tab appear to rely on separate local auth/token state rather than a single synced session. Related cross-tab auth interference has been reported before (e.g. issue #35070, where modifying the Code tab token cache invalidates the Chat tab session). Suggests the two tabs token refresh/write cycles can race or overwrite each other locally, rather than this being a network or server-side session expiry issue.
Impact
Interrupts active work sessions multiple times per day; not caused by inactivity, network conditions, or explicit logout - appears purely tied to tab switching within the Desktop app.