Cowork issues on Windows — page 3
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 201–300
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 fails with HYPERVISOR_SERVICE_ERROR on ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme / i7-10700K — bcdedit hypervisorlaunchtype auto freezes boot
- [FEATURE] Cowork built-in browser: apply View → Zoom to the browser pane when it has focus (persisted, like Codex)
- Claude Desktop MSIX (v1.52386.0): Workspace fails to start — VHDX not found + junction redirect rejected, even after clean reinstall
- [BUG] Cowork Windows 1.49585.0.0: host attaches Plan9 shares (hr=0x0) and guest sdk-daemon reports ready, but guest mounts nothing — every bash call fails "no Plan9 drive shares mounted under /mnt/.virtiofs-root/shared"; guest console log is 0 bytes
- [BUG] Claude Desktop (Windows 11 25H2) fails to launch with misleading "Another program is currently using this file" — 0x80070020 Silo/Job failure with cowork-svc.exe in an SCM restart loop; only reboot recovers
- [BUG] Cowork (Windows, host-loop): every mcp__workspace__bash call denied since Claude Desktop 1.44121.1 / Claude Code 2.1.258 — the app's own --disallowedTools Bash now matches the workspace shell via toolAliases
- [BUG] Cowork browser fallback crashes app, leaves it unable to launch ("This app can't open") — recurs even after reinstall
- [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 silently corrupts files in OneDrive folders with Files-On-Demand
- [BUG] Cowork VHDX placement fails with ELOOP on Intel RST VMD Controller 467F — distinct from EXDEV, bash permanently broken since v1.8089.1
- [BUG] Dell G3 3579 – Windows 11 Home: Boot failure (error 0xc0000001) when activating Virtual Machine Platform for Cowork
- Claude Desktop (Cowork): TLS verification failure on bridge.claudeusercontent.com — bundled Node CA bundle issue on Windows 11 [regression ~1 week]
- [BUG] Cowork slash commands return "Unknown skill" — affects custom org plugin skills AND built-in /feedback
- [BUG] CoworkVMService DACL omits BA/SY permissions, blocking installer upgrades and recovery (root cause for #25136, #48367, #49655)
- [Bug] Claude GitHub App authentication fails on specific personal repositories despite valid installation
- [BUG]
- [BUG] cowork tab is gone on Claude Windows
- [BUG] Cowork "Virtualization is not available" on Windows 11 Pro 25H2 — all virtualization features enabled, VM never initializes
- [BUG] [Cowork / Plugins] hooks.json silencieusement ignoré en mode Cowork
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing — yukonSilver misdetection, build 1.3109.0, Windows 11 MSIX
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing on Windows 11 Pro 25H2 — yukonSilver marked as unsupported despite Hyper-V enabled, no CoworkVMService conflict
- Cowork VM agents fail with 'Failed to create bridge sockets after 5 attempts' on Claude Desktop 1.3036.0.0 (Windows)
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing on Windows 11 Pro - only Chat and Code tabs visible
- [BUG] [#40175 extension] Global Instructions silently revert via bidirectional UI↔session CLAUDE.md sync (last-writer-wins)
- [BUG] CLAUDE COWORK AND CODE INCOMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS 11 HOME ASUS ZENBOOK W/ SNAPDRAGON
- [BUG] SSH connection hangs silently + subsequent chat messages not displayed — likely shared connection issue
- Cowork filesystem-type block ignores ST_RDONLY and host-side ACLs, breaking read-only cloud storage mounts
- [BUG] 403 on Claude Desktop Cowork (Win64)
- [BUG] Claude Code (Cowork) permanently stuck on "Setting up Claude's workspace" loading screen on Windows 11
- [BUG] Cowork: VM boots but guest never starts coworkd on Windows ARM64 (build 1.1.8629)
- [BUG] OS: Windows 11 Education 25H2 "Virtual Machine not available" on CoWork
- Cowork installation causes Windows 11 boot failure requiring System Restore
- [BUG] Cowork VM boot IPC hangs silently — VMCLIRunner blocks UI indefinitely (Win11 25H2, all prerequisites met)
- [FEATURE] Claude desktop app: sync read/unread state across devices on the same account
- [BUG] Claude Desktop 2.110.0 (Windows/MSIX): after a quit, every launch fails with renderer "launch-failed, exitCode: 21" until CoworkVMService is restarted
- [BUG] Cowork: workspace VM never starts — service waits for `configure` forever while client reconnects once per second
- [BUG] Windows Cowork: device_bash permanently dead — "no Plan9 drive shares mounted", survives app restart and full OS reboot
- [Bug] MSIX auto-update leaves package in unlaunchable state: 0x80070020 container creation failure
- [BUG] Scheduled tasks fire but the spawned session never executes - one run reported SUCCEEDED after 12s having done nothing (recurrence of #65537)
- Windows MSIX: auto-start CoworkVMService races package servicing -> 0x80073D02, app won't launch until repeated Repair
- [BUG] Cowork Windows: Local environment cannot attach ANY Project — "Projects can't be included in sessions that run on this computer" (macOS unaffected, identical app version)
- [BUG] CoworkVMService crashes when Browser panel tool is used to interact with a page
- [BUG] Windows MSIX 1.32352.1.0: local filesystem MCP server unusable in Cowork sessions - draft-07 outputSchema rejected, and no server version passes both checks
- Bug report: Claude Desktop (MSIX) launch blocked by leaked Cowork VM file handles
- [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] 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
- [BUG] Cowork and Code tabs grayed out – CoworkVMService running but VM stalls at tick 1 – Windows 11, Max plan
- [BUG] Cowork on Windows ARM64: Linux guest never establishes vsock callback — stuck at add_plan9_shares, 100% reproducible after exhaustive diagnosis
- [BUG] Installation fails with HRESULT 0x80073D28 - Package stuck in Servicing state due to CoworkVMService conflict
- [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 Linux sandbox fails with HYPERVISOR_SERVICE_ERROR (0x80370102) on Citrix XenServer-based VDI environment
- [BUG] Worktree status bar shows diff against default branch instead of selected parent branch
- [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
- [GitHub integration] Cowork sessions on one account don't get list_repos / add_repo tools; same GitHub App works on my other account
- [BUG] Stray priconfig.xml in Desktop MSIX breaks installation with 0x80073CF9
- [BUG] [Cowork] mcp__workspace__bash sandbox VM still fails to start — 2-month persistent outage (ref #76374)
- Bug Report: Linux sandbox fails to start on Windows 10 (RPC pipe closed) — MSIX identity detection bug
- [BUG] Filesystem MCP server (remote-devices) fails all tool calls: outputSchema declares unsupported draft-07 dialect
- [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)
- [BUG] [Cowork] New project's local folder context fails to load - mcp__remote-devices__device_list_dir not registered in session
- [BUG] Cowork: individual user messages missing from chat log (not total truncation) - data intact in backend transcript
- [BUG] "spawn ENAMETOOLONG" - Cowork completely broken on Windows (all projects) - UPDATE: SELF FIX - Details in reply
- [BUG] Cowork/MCP tool calls fail with -32001 after ~60s even when the server completes and the result arrives
- 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)
- [BUG] Dispatch "Pairing failed" — Windows 11, never paired, persists after clean reinstall (server-side reset needed)
- [BUG] Silent data loss: Cowork file writes truncated after successful md5 verification on Windows OneDrive folders
- Cowork sessions crash with 1M context error — auto-compaction regression (tengu_slate_siskin disabled)
- Multiple server-side flags incorrectly restricting Pro user features: auto mode, skills dashboard, permission friction
- [BUG] AppX/MSIX Error Code 0x80073D28 and 0x80073CF6 during Claude Setup 1.8555.0 (commit 8245b7a72393fec67fa946b26a825bfbd3f947b3) fails on Windows 11 build 26200