[FEATURE] Official Arch Linux (pacman) support for Claude Desktop, not just the CLI

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Claude Desktop's Linux beta only supports Debian-based distributions (Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 12+) via a .deb package. On Arch Linux and pacman-based derivatives (Manjaro, EndeavourOS, etc.), the official guidance is to fall back to the Claude Code CLI instead.

That fallback drops every desktop-only feature: Cowork, parallel sessions, visual diff review, the integrated terminal/editor, and live app preview. None of these have a CLI equivalent, so "use the CLI" isn't a real substitute for Arch users who want the full desktop workflow.

The only current way to get a GUI on Arch is an unofficial community repackaging of the Debian build (aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian's AUR package), which carries no Anthropic signing or support guarantee.

Proposed Solution

Ship an official, pacman-installable build of Claude Desktop for Arch and Arch-based distributions:

1. Start with an Anthropic-maintained AUR package (e.g. claude-desktop) built from the same binary/signing pipeline as the Debian .deb.
2. Longer term, aim for inclusion in the extra repo so pacman -S claude-desktop installs it with no AUR helper required.
3. Validate and document Cowork's KVM-based isolation backend specifically against Arch's rolling kernel/QEMU versions, since that's where community repackagings most often break.

Goal: pacman -S claude-desktop (or yay -S claude-desktop while AUR-only) gives Arch users the same Chat + Cowork + Claude Code Desktop experience Debian/Ubuntu users get in the current beta.

Alternative Solutions

• aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian's AUR/AppImage/rpm builds — functional, but unofficial, unsigned by Anthropic, and breaks whenever upstream changes Electron or native modules.
• Falling back to the Claude Code CLI — no Cowork tab, no visual diff review, no drag-and-drop file/workspace management.
• Running the Windows or Debian build under a compatibility layer (Wine, distrobox, etc.) — fragile, and shouldn't be necessary for a distro this popular with developers.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

Other

Use Case Example

Example scenario:

1. I run Arch Linux as my daily-driver dev machine.
2. I want to use Cowork to manage a coding session's file changes visually, alongside chat, rather than living entirely in a terminal.
3. Today my only options are an unofficial AUR build repackaged from the Debian .deb (no Anthropic signing/support) or the CLI, which drops Cowork and visual diff entirely.
4. With an official pacman package, I'd get the same Chat + Cowork + Claude Code Desktop experience Debian/Ubuntu beta users already have, installed and updated through my normal system package manager instead of a side channel.

Additional Context

• The official Linux desktop beta currently covers only Debian-based distros: Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 12+ (x86_64/arm64).
• Related community project (unofficial): https://github.com/aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian — repackages the official .deb into .rpm/AppImage/AUR/Nix builds.
• Related open request for Linux desktop support generally: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/47316
• Cowork's isolation currently depends on KVM; official Arch support should confirm/document the required libvirt/QEMU versions as part of the build.