Cowork issues on Windows
Issues the maintainers labelled both platform:windows and area:cowork.
1,074 issues · 263 open · 811 resolved (76%) · first seen Feb 12, 2026
Is this getting better or worse?
This class of problem is holding steady. 328 new reports in the last 90 days vs 426 in the 90 before — -23%. The open backlog peaked at 263 in 2026-10 and sits at 263 today.
Derived by counting each matching issue from its creation date until it closed. First-party
computation over the anthropics/claude-code tracker — the trend is not published
anywhere upstream.
Which builds report this
280 of these reports name the Claude Code build they were running, spanning 115 releases. Heaviest reporters:
- Claude Code v2.1.111
- Claude Code v2.1.258
- Claude Code v2.1.260
- Claude Code v2.1.229
- Claude Code v2.1.170
- Claude Code v2.1.227
- Claude Code v2.1.92
- Claude Code v2.1.63
Report volume, not a defect count: an issue can mention a build without that build having caused the failure. Versions come from the version string in the bug-report template, matched against real published tags.
Do these get fixed?
Median time to close is 38 days across 811 closures. Of the 811 closures with a recorded reason, 14% were closed as completed and 696 as not-planned or duplicate. The most recent completed fix landed in 2026-10.
Workarounds reported by the community
348 of these issues post a workaround someone says worked. The highest-engagement ones:
- [BUG] Cowork: Cannot use folders outside home directory on Windows (secondary drive)
- …rs within your home directory can be used." A symbolic link workaround was also tested: creating a symlink inside the home directory pointing to the target folder on the secondary drive. Cowork resolves the symlink to it…
Found in the description of #29583 · resolved - [BUG] Cowork (Windows): all Plan9 shares fail with "Plan9 mount failed: invalid argument" after Windows update KB5124008 (26200.9445) — uninstalling the KB fixes it
- …ndbox could break again, with no obvious reason why. - This workaround has a real cost. KB5124008 is the September Patch Tuesday update and patches two actively exploited elevation-of-privilege vulnerabilities. Staying o…
Found in the thread of #92984 · still open - [BUG] Claude Desktop fails to launch on Windows — orphaned Silo / Job Object after app crash, only logoff or reboot recovers (HRESULT 0x80070020 in AppModel-Runtime EventID 215/208)
- …doesn't propagate cleanup back through the Silo Only known workaround Logoff + Login (or full reboot). This clears the orphaned handle in the user-session. Service restarts and AppX package resets do not clean it up. Th…
Found in the description of #53247 · still open - Claude Desktop (Windows): provide a way to disable the bundled Cowork background service (CoworkVMService) for users who don't use Cowork
- …esktop is not an option for me — I use it daily. - The only workarounds are user-hostile : take ownership of and force , or schedule a task at logon. Both may break on package updates and feel wrong on a system level. Se…
Found in the description of #57371 · still open - [FEATURE] Allow configuring VM bundle (vhdx) storage location
- …ve. NTFS junctions ( ) fail. There is no reliable user-side workaround. For me, it's quite unconvenient. I have to move other files to D: to continue use Cowork. - OS: Windows 11 - Latest Claude Desktop Proposed Solution…
Found in the description of #56089 · still open
Excerpts are quoted from the linked issue so you can judge relevance before opening it. Threads that only ask for a workaround, or report that there is none, are excluded. These are community suggestions, not official guidance from Anthropic — read the full thread before applying one.
Matching issues 1–100
Ranked by community engagement (reactions weighted over comments). Listing the top 300 of 1,074 matches; the statistics above cover all 1,074.
- [BUG] Cowork: Cannot use folders outside home directory on Windows (secondary drive)
- [BUG] Cowork (Windows): all Plan9 shares fail with "Plan9 mount failed: invalid argument" after Windows update KB5124008 (26200.9445) — uninstalling the KB fixes it
- [BUG] Claude Desktop fails to launch on Windows — orphaned Silo / Job Object after app crash, only logoff or reboot recovers (HRESULT 0x80070020 in AppModel-Runtime EventID 215/208)
- Claude Desktop (Windows): provide a way to disable the bundled Cowork background service (CoworkVMService) for users who don't use Cowork
- [FEATURE] Allow configuring VM bundle (vhdx) storage location
- [BUG] Cowork: virtiofs FUSE mount serves truncated/stale files — host-side file changes not reflected in VM
- [BUG] Cowork: new projects lost "Choose a folder" — Context menu replaced with Chat-style upload-only knowledge menu after Chat/Cowork merge
- [BUG] Cowork: Folder does not support UNC under Windows
- Remote Control session not visible in session list, cannot reconnect after leaving
- [BUG] GitHub connector shows "Connected" but exposes no tools in Cowork (Windows 11, app v1.8555.2.0)
- [BUG] [BUG] Cowork VM fails to start on Windows ARM64 (Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, Snapdragon)
- [BUG] Missing HCS services: vfpext - Cowork not working on Windows 11 Pro
- [BUG] Cowork: Global instructions silently revert to older version after saving
- [BUG] Windows (MSIX): update fails with 'Another program is currently using this file' — app unlaunchable until reboot (every update)
- [BUG] Cowork Google Drive MCP cannot see content in any Workspace Shared Drive
- [Feature] Cowork desktop app: support host proxy settings (HTTP/HTTPS/NTLM) for enterprise network environments
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: September 2026 cumulative update breaks Plan9 share attach — device_bash dead on both ARM64 (KB5124012 / 28000.2954) and x64 (KB5124008 / 26200.9445); confirmed by rollback A/B on five machines
- [BUG] Cowork Edit/Write tools silently truncate files via byte-conservation buffer cap (deterministic, fires at all file sizes)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing in desktop app v1.2581.0 on Windows 11
- [BUG] Cowork VM guest kernel never boots on Snapdragon X Plus (ARM64) — connection timeout every attempt
- [FEATURE] Feature request: expose a "rename session" tool to the agent (ccd_session_mgmt)
- [BUG] 1.1617.0 (8d6345): New Cowork sessions crash with "exited with code 1" - /doctor and /bug non-functional
- [BUG] Claude Desktop update fails with 0x80073CF6 when CoworkVMService is running (Windows)
- [BUG] Claude Cowork sandbox never becomes ready on Windows ARM64 / Snapdragon X Plus
- [BUG] Cowork on Windows: bash sandbox can create files on mounted host folder but unlink is denied — breaks all git write operations
- Cowork fails on ARM64 (Snapdragon X) despite passing readiness check
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: API unreachable from VM behind corporate NTLM proxy (cntlm)
- [BUG] Cowork desktop app — bash workspace fails to start repeatedly across sessions
- [BUG] CoworkVMService fails to start — "signature verification initialization failed: failed to get service executable path" (Windows 11 Pro)
- [BUG] Cowork /schedule skill fails — create_scheduled_task tool not injected into session context (Windows)
- [BUG] Bug: Claude in Chrome — all sites blocked in Cowork mode (was working previously)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop blank screen on Windows + Cowork unusable + sandbox API errors — Max subscriber, 9-day outage
- [BUG] Cowork ARM64: VM boots but guest never connects — "VM connection timeout after 60 seconds
- [BUG] Cowork cloud sandbox: egress allowlist collapses to ~5 hosts despite account setting "All domains"
- [BUG] Cowork tab shows "requires a newer installation" on Windows 11 Build 26200 — yukonSilver marked unsupported
- Claude Desktop Cowork: HCS 0x800707de Construct failure due to duplicate Plan9 shares
- Stray "call"/"court" token before tool calls; internal <invoke> XML printed as text instead of executing (Windows local + cloud Cowork)
- [BUG] Merged Claude app runs Opus 4.6 at 200K context on Max 5x (help center says 500K); ~92K fixed overhead leaves ~50K per compaction cycle
- [BUG] Cowork tab disabled — yukonSilver "unsupported" on Windows 11 Pro x64 (ongoing since March 2026)
- [BUG]
- [BUG] Cowork shows "Virtualization is not enabled" on Windows 10 Home despite all virtualization features enabled
- [BUG] Linux Desktop: session_stale_relogin (elevated_auth) forces ~daily re-login; sign-in demanded twice during Cowork folder-access grants
- [BUG] Cowork: Scheduled reserved-path overlap blocks mounting ~/Documents/Claude and every parent folder — no scheduled tasks ever created
- [BUG] "Pull request status couldn't be checked" banner persistently appears on every session in worktree branches without an associated PR
- [BUG] Cowork shows "Virtualization is not available" on Windows 11 Pro despite Hyper-V fully enabled and services running**
- Cowork: remote-devices file bridge disconnects repeatedly, including mid-operation
- [BUG] Cowork: Minor version update permanently deletes chat history and scheduled tasks
- [BUG] Remote Connection / Mobile App
- [BUG] indows 11 Pro: Cowork, Connectors, and Claude Code all broken after latest auto-update — ERR_CONNECTION_RESET + OAuthError
- [BUG] Cowork: device_commit_files reports success on overwrites but the on-disk content lags exactly one commit behind (silent stale write, fresh mtime)
- [BUG] Cowork (Windows): project context folders never mount in new sessions; Add-folder dialog cannot confirm — reproduced on two machines after latest update
- Feature request: continuous voice conversation mode (like mobile app) in Desktop/Cowork
- [BUG] Cowork mode - Linux bash sandbox never starts on Windows (Workspace unavailable since first launch)
- ultraplan: 30-min timeout silently discards all generated output and wastes tokens
- [BUG] Cowork fails with Plan9 share 'd': HcsWaitForOperationResult 0x800703ed after update - Windows
- [BUG] Windows: Cowork browser automation tools missing after Claude Desktop update — computer-use tools never register
- [BUG] Server is busy Claude cowork desktop error
- [BUG] [CRITICAL] Cowork Dispatch responses never render in desktop UI — backend processes successfully but TypeError crashes renderer
- [BUG]
- Cowork: VM connection timeout on Windows ARM64 (Snapdragon X Plus)
- [FEATURE] Cowork: Remove folder picker restriction to user profile directory (Windows)
- [B[BUG] Cowork Windows - RPC error -1: virtiofs/Plan9 mount fails after brief use
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: WebFetch egress proxy blocks all domains regardless of "All domains" allowlist setting
- [BUG] Cowork: "VM service not running" — DCOM 10016 blocks CoworkVMService start from MSIX container (Win11 Home→Pro upgrade)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing after update on Windows 11
- [BUG] Cowork Windows — hvsock dies after idle, "connection aborted by software in host machine" (Win 11 Pro 24H2)
- Cowork: gcpRegion validation rejects "eu"/"us" multi-region, but newest models are only available via eu multi-region on Vertex AI
- [Windows] AppX update/relaunch fails with "another program is using this file" (0x80073d02) — CoworkVMService (cowork-svc.exe) holds package file lock
- [BUG] Cowork crashes after 11 seconds on ARM64 Windows (Snapdragon X Elite) - Error 3221225477
- [BUG] Co-work Windows: sandbox environment leaks into child processes, breaking Unix domain socket IPC (JVM NIO, Gradle, MCP servers affected)
- Cowork VM marked unsupported on Windows 11 25H2 Build 26200 (stable release)
- [BUG] Cowork local sandbox not mounting after update in Claude Desktop 1.49585.0.0 (Windows)
- [Bug] Usage credits required for 1M context on Max 5x plan — standard model selected, Cowork + Claude Code
- [BUG] Cowork on macOS 1.8555.2 — zero MCP tools bind in any install path (.mcpb + SDK bridge + Custom Connectors + project .mcp.json); spawn pipeline missing --mcp-config since 2026-05-23 auto-update
- [BUG] Dispatch pairing permanently failing — Windows 11 Pro 25H2
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: GitHub connector shows "Connected" but exposes no tools to Claude
- [BUG] Cowork shows "requires a more recent installation" on Windows 11 after fresh reinstall of latest version (1.13576.0)
- [BUG] Cowork VM leaks NtFC (NTFS FCB) NonPaged Pool at 12-16 GB/h; two full RAM-exhaustion cycles in one evening, reboot required (re #45921)
- [BUG] Cowork EXDEV: cross-device link not permitted — rename within same directory (Windows 11 Pro, OneDrive present)
- [BUG] API Error: Unable to connect to API (ECONNRESET)
- Remote Control: Dispatch stuck on "Brewing..." - no response from spawn session (Windows 11)
- [BUG] Cowork stuck on "Setting up Claude's workspace" — Windows 10 Pro
- [BUG] Failed to start Claude's workspace VM service not running. The service failed to start.
- [BUG] Claude Desktop on Windows — Cowork connection errors after session crash
- Isolated Linux workspace (device-bash) fails to start on linked Windows desktop
- [BUG] Cowork (Windows): mcp__workspace__bash denied in every session after updating to 1.44121.1.0 — worked on 1.40609.1.0
- [BUG] Cowork (Windows): mcp__workspace__bash and web_fetch instantly denied in every session, no dialog — related to #57101 / #74324
- [BUG] Cowork microphone input cuts off after ~2 seconds on x64 — works fine on ARM64
- [BUG] BUG: Cowork Linux sandbox fails to start on Windows — persists after all Hyper-V service fixes
- [BUG] Cowork: Agent tool `model` parameter silently ignored — all sub-agents routed to Haiku
- Cowork remote plugins: no path to force-update stale marketplace cache (Windows)
- [BUG] [Claude Desktop] [Cowork] Automatic update moved sessions to the cloud; file tools act on copies and device_commit_files leaves old bytes
- [BUG] Cowork task window does not open on Windows — task shows "waiting for input" but clicking does nothing
- Cowork scheduled tasks on Windows leave claude.exe processes alive after completion, causing memory accumulation
- [BUG] "OAuth token forbidden (403) — missing scope or org access" issues #48806 and #44541
- [BUG] Claude Desktop MSIX Installation Fails with HRESULT 0x80073CF6 on Windows 11
- [BUG] Custom local MCP server tools disabled in Cowork and Claude Code, but work in Claude Chat Desktop app
- Cowork stuck on 'Authenticating' — OAuth token exchange returns 500
- [BUG] [CRASH] {solution proposed} Shipped MSIX has no AppxMetadata\CodeIntegrity.cat — vk_swiftshader.dll blocked by Code Integrity, AppX container destroyed (0x3CFC) **Needs packaging (and something to protect data from getting nuked.)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing on Windows 11 Home 25H2 (Build 26200) - yukonSilver status=unsupported persists across 1.18286.0/1.18286.2/1.19367.0 despite virtualization fully enabled