Cowork issues on Windows — page 3
Issues the maintainers labelled both platform:windows and area:cowork.
872 issues · 195 open · 677 resolved (78%) · first seen Feb 12, 2026
Is this getting better or worse?
This class of problem is converging. 336 new reports in the last 90 days vs 505 in the 90 before — -33%. The open backlog peaked at 248 in 2026-04 and sits at 195 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
221 of these reports name the Claude Code build they were running, spanning 93 releases. Heaviest reporters:
- Claude Code v2.1.111
- 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
- Claude Code v2.1.209
- Claude Code v2.1.121
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 37 days across 677 closures. Of the 677 closures with a recorded reason, 15% were closed as completed and 577 as not-planned or duplicate. The most recent completed fix landed in 2026-08.
Workarounds reported by the community
266 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 - 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 - [BUG] Cowork: virtiofs FUSE mount serves truncated/stale files — host-side file changes not reflected in VM
- …nt Starting a new Cowork session (new VM instance) The only workaround is to permanently use a different filename, which isn't practical.
Found in the thread of #38993 · still open - Remote Control session not visible in session list, cannot reconnect after leaving
- …(remote-control fails on npm installs). After applying the workaround for that issue, the connection works but session persistence does not.
Found in the description of #28402 · 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 201–300
Ranked by community engagement (reactions weighted over comments). Listing the top 300 of 872 matches; the statistics above cover all 872.
- [BUG] Claude Desktop installation fails - Administrator access required (Cowork) on Windows 11 Pro Build 26200
- [BUG] Cowork sandbox fails at sdk_install on Windows — VM guest crashes with "connection forcibly closed" (regression SDK 2.1.181 → 2.1.202)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing after July 1-2 update on Windows 11 Pro — yukonSilver marked as unsupported (regression)
- [BUG] Dispatch permanently “Can’t reach your desktop” — main thread stuck, Cowork works, Windows
- [Cowork file tools silently truncate / null-pad writes on the Windows workspace mount]
- [BUG] Cowork impossible on MSI MPG X570 / Ryzen 9 3900X — vmms service missing, Hyper-V causes boot failure
- [BUG] Cowork and Code tabs grayed out – CoworkVMService running but VM stalls at tick 1 – Windows 11, Max plan
- [BUG] Cowork VHDX placement fails with ELOOP on Intel RST VMD Controller 467F — distinct from EXDEV, bash permanently broken since v1.8089.1
- [BUG] CoworkVMService DACL omits BA/SY permissions, blocking installer upgrades and recovery (root cause for #25136, #48367, #49655)
- [BUG] Cowork Linux sandbox fails with HYPERVISOR_SERVICE_ERROR (0x80370102) on Citrix XenServer-based VDI environment
- [BUG]
- [BUG] Cowork tab not showing on Windows 11 Pro 25H2 — Pro subscriber
- [BUG] Cowork scheduled task reads stale filesystem snapshot between invocations (Windows)
- [BUG] cowork not working
- [BUG] Cowork: Claude Code process exits with code 1 on every query — "Failed to create bridge sockets after 5 attempts" on Windows 11 25H2
- [BUG] Cowork on Windows 11: VM starts successfully but child process exits code 1 immediately
- Cloud Cowork is not working in windows 11 home edition
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: EXDEV cross-device rename failure causes machine crashes on bundle update — affects all MSIX installs
- [BUG] Cowork crashes and relaunches app when returning after extended idle — stale Hyper-V VM survives Windows Fast Startup hibernation (Windows 11)
- Dispatch: background task error breaks all subsequent replies in main conversation
- [BUG] Rate limit persists on Claude Desktop (Cowork) after Pro → Max 20x upgrade until re-login
- Cowork will not start
- [BUG] Cowork: "VM service not running" — CoworkVMService exits with code 1066 on clean Win11 Pro 25H2, all dependencies verified functional
- [BUG] Cowork stuck at end of loading bar — VM never finishes initializing (Windows 11 Pro)
- [BUG] Cowork stuck on "Setting up Claude's workspace" — Windows 11 Home
- [BUG] Cowork Workspace Fails on Windows with Dot in Username (EBADF on rootfs.vhdx rename)
- [BUG] Code tab crashes on Windows 11 Home 25H2 after auto-update — VM service not running (regression from working state)
- [BUG] Cowork fails to start on Windows — "yukonSilver not supported" despite virtualization enabled and CoworkVMService running
- [BUG] CoworkVMService crashes when Browser panel tool is used to interact with a page
- [BUG] Dispatch entry missing from Cowork sidebar in Claude Desktop (Windows) while visible on mobile
- [BUG] Cowork/MCP tool calls fail with -32001 after ~60s even when the server completes and the result arrives
- [BUG] Cowork voice dictation: mic activates briefly on 2nd attempt, then stops (Windows 11)
- [BUG] Bedrock Guardrails — session permanently blocked after guardrail trigger in Cowork 3P (Desktop)
- [BUG] Dispatch "Pairing failed" — Windows 11, never paired, persists after clean reinstall (server-side reset needed)
- [BUG] Cowork — vmcompute (Hyper-V Host Compute Service) terminates with "General access denied error" (0x80070005); workspace never starts despite readiness check PASS/SUPPORTED
- [BUG] Cowork "yukonSilver not supported" on Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200) — stable GA channel
- [BUG] Dispatch permanently stuck — never resets to QR code pairing state, "Can't reach your desktop" / "Asleep" on mobile (Windows 11)
- Auto mode: classifier denials should fall back to an interactive permission prompt when the user is present
- [BUG] Cowork broken after auto-update to v1.11187.4.0 on Windows 11 Pro — RPC connection drops immediately with EOF
- [BUG] Concurrent writes to .claude.json by parallel workers + MCP truncate the file mid-JSON, triggering cascading agent spawn
- [BUG] Claude Desktop installer fails on Windows Home — no fallback "Install without Cowork" option shown
- Multiple server-side flags incorrectly restricting Pro user features: auto mode, skills dashboard, permission friction
- [BUG] Cowork on Windows ARM64: Linux guest never establishes vsock callback — stuck at add_plan9_shares, 100% reproducible after exhaustive diagnosis
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing on Windows after update to 1.7196.3
- [BUG] Installation fails with HRESULT 0x80073D28 - Package stuck in Servicing state due to CoworkVMService conflict
- [BUG] Cowork VM silent boot failure on Windows 11 with VirtualMachinePlatform-only (no full Hyper-V) configuration
- [BUG] Cowork shows "Virtual Machine Platform not available" — yukonSilver marked as unsupported on Windows 11 Pro
- [BUG] Claude Desktop - COWORK not present in app - Issue #25136
- [BUG] Claude Desktop 3P custom credential helper: `ConfigHealth` stuck in `provider_error` after cold-path helper auth succeeds
- [BUG] Cowork rises CPU temperature to 83°C even when idle
- [BUG] Cowork's `spawnLocalProcess` fails immediately with `errno: -4094, code: 'UNKNOWN', syscall: 'spawn'` on enterprise Windows machines with WDAC (Windows Defender Application Control) kernel-mode enforcement enabled.
- [BUG] Cowork scheduler stops firing recurring tasks after ~24-30 hrs uptime; only Windows reboot recovers
- [BUG] [Claude Desktop] Cowork VM agent sessions don't receive credentials (gateway mode or Bedrock direct mode)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing after auto-update on Windows 11 Pro**
- [BUG] Worktree status bar shows diff against default branch instead of selected parent branch
- [BUG] Cowork left sidebar completely missing — no Settings, navigation, or Feedback buttons visible
- [BUG] Claude Desktop fails to launch on Windows 11 Home 25H2 (Build 26200) — CoworkVMService crashes before initialization
- [BUG] Cowork Settings > Instructions field silently reverts to stale content (server-side, ~15 min latency)
- [BUG] Cowork: Agent autonomously explores filesystem outside sandbox boundary (Windows 11)
- [BUG] Cowork "Virtualization is not available" — Virtual Machine Platform not responding
- [BUG]
- [BUG] I cannot see the cowork option in my Claude. I only see code and chat.
- [BUG] Cowork fails to install on Windows 11 Pro – HRESULT 0x80073CF6
- [Bug] Cowork returns exit code 127 with "CoworkVM service not running" after update
- [BUG] Cowork tab not showing on Windows 11 25H2 Build 26200 x64 — yukonSilver marked unsupported (still broken after #25136 closed)
- Claude Desktop cowork/CC-in-Desktop leaks ~19GB kernel non-paged pool memory
- [BUG] Windows: Cowork fails to start - “VM service not running” (app hang / stuck)
- [BUG] Cowork "Virtualization is not available" on Windows 11 Education — VM never initializes, no logs created
- [BUG] Cowork not working on Windows 11 Pro - VM service errors, all troubleshooting exhausted
- [BUG] Cowork Google Drive Connection - toast appearing but panel not updating on chrome/Win11
- [DOCS] Missing troubleshooting guide for Cowork "VM service not running" + EXDEV errors on Windows
- [BUG] Plan9 share 'h' fails with HRESULT 0x80070005 (Access Denied) after Claude Desktop update — Windows 10 Pro 22H2
- [BUG] CoworkVMService Failure
- [BUG] Cowork "Virtual Machine Platform not available" — yukonSilver unsupported on Windows 10 Home 22H2
- [BUG] Cowork fails to start on Windows — "signature verification initialization failed: failed to get service executable path
- Cowork scheduled tasks: SKILL.md with CRLF line endings causes empty description and update_scheduled_task parse failure
- [BUG] Cowork session resume crashes with "TypeError: Invalid UUID" and enters infinite retry loop
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: API unreachable behind NTLM proxy — no egress proxy implementation on Windows (systematic diagnosis)
- [BUG] Cowork fails with HCS 0x800707de on Windows 11 — Construct failure after update to v1.1.6041
- [BUG] Cowork: Plugin marketplace fails to load when TEMP directory is on a different drive (EXDEV cross-device link error)
- [BUG] Cowork still unavailable after reinstalling with admin rights
- [BUG] Closing Claude Desktop kills shared CoworkVMService, breaking all running Claude Code CLI sessions
- [BUG] Multiple Issues with Claude Cowork - Failed to start Claude's Workspace
- [Bug] Cowork RPC error -1: process already running on Windows 11
- [BUG] Claude Desktop (Windows, MSIX) fails to launch after spontaneous close — "reinstall required" dialog, Repair does not fix it
- [BUG] Desktop app corrupted after silent "stealth update" — recurring "app is corrupt, needs repair" errors
- [BUG] CoworkVMService fails to configure SCM recovery actions (Access denied) — crashes require manual Task Manager kill + Repair, app doesn't self-heal
- [BUG] Windows MSIX: CoworkVMService (StartupType=auto) blocks every desktop update, then blocks relaunch (0x80073D02 / 0x80070020)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop (Windows MSIX): CoworkVMService blocks package update, causing Modified/NeedsRemediation corruption
- Cowork VM fails to start: signature verification rejects valid multi-volume AppX package copy
- [BUG] Windows: Claude Desktop MSIX package reverts to Modified, NeedsRemediation within minutes of clean install; Repair impossible due to CoworkVMService
- [BUG] Cowork (cloud) re-serves stale local-file content within a session: after a file is staged once, re-staging the same path returns the OLD bytes while reporting the file's NEW size/mtime (false all-clear)
- サイドバーの「co-chat」「Co-work」タブが表示されない。
- [BUG] [Cowork] New project's local folder context fails to load - mcp__remote-devices__device_list_dir not registered in session
- [BUG] Windows: update leaves package in deferred-registration loop; app unlaunchable ("Another program is currently using this file") until sign-out or reboot
- [BUG] "spawn ENAMETOOLONG" - Cowork completely broken on Windows (all projects) - UPDATE: SELF FIX - Details in reply
- Cowork: in-app yukonSilver reports unsupported on arm64, but Anthropic's own Readiness Check reports SUPPORTED (Snapdragon X2 Elite / Win11 26H1)
- [BUG] freezing UI
- [BUG] Cowork Projects: No delete option — archive is a black hole with no recovery
- [BUG] Cowork: virtiofs mount cache not invalidated on Windows host file saves — BadZipFile on Excel save (ref #42520)