The desktop app issues on Windows
Issues the maintainers labelled both platform:windows and area:desktop.
2,230 issues · 880 open · 1,350 resolved (61%) · first seen Feb 9, 2026
Is this getting better or worse?
This class of problem is still growing. 1195 new reports in the last 90 days vs 787 in the 90 before — +52%. The open backlog peaked at 880 in 2026-10 and sits at 880 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
1,014 of these reports name the Claude Code build they were running, spanning 175 releases. Heaviest reporters:
- Claude Code v2.1.260
- Claude Code v2.1.246
- Claude Code v2.1.229
- Claude Code v2.1.247
- Claude Code v2.1.209
- Claude Code v2.1.286
- Claude Code v2.1.237
- Claude Code v2.1.170
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 35 days across 1,350 closures. Of the 1,350 closures with a recorded reason, 22% were closed as completed and 1,048 as not-planned or duplicate. The most recent completed fix landed in 2026-10.
Workarounds reported by the community
690 of these issues post a workaround someone says worked. The highest-engagement ones:
- [FEATURE] Add font size adjustment for Code tab in Claude Desktop
- …rl+- also do not work inside the Code tab. The only current workaround is to change the entire Windows display scaling, which affects all applications system-wide and is not a practical solution. Proposed Solution Please…
Found in the description of #48237 · resolved - Windows: app window is always-on-top with no way to disable it
- …earance toggle in the app - No documented keyboard shortcut Workaround Windows virtual desktops ( ), which works because "always on top" is per-desktop. Minimising the window also works but is not practical for frequent…
Found in the description of #89467 · resolved - [Feature Request] Native WSL Remote Integration for Claude Code Desktop on Windows
- …l: wrong shell, broken paths, toolchain mismatches. The SSH workaround is too clunky for daily use. VS Code's Remote - WSL solved this years ago. Claude Code Desktop deserves the same. This would unlock the Desktop UI fo…
Found in the thread of #49933 · resolved - [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
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 2,230 matches; the statistics above cover all 2,230.
- [FEATURE] Add font size adjustment for Code tab in Claude Desktop
- Windows: app window is always-on-top with no way to disable it
- [Feature Request] Native WSL Remote Integration for Claude Code Desktop on Windows
- [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
- [BUG] Inline $...$ LaTeX does not render in Claude Code desktop tab (macOS/Windows) — display $$...$$ works
- Desktop app: support custom themes / accent colors (parity with CLI custom theme system)
- [FEATURE] Allow configuring VM bundle (vhdx) storage location
- [Regression] Desktop app: session time-range filter only appears when Group by is set to State
- [BUG] Cowork: new projects lost "Choose a folder" — Context menu replaced with Chat-style upload-only knowledge menu after Chat/Cowork merge
- Desktop app: option to make Enter insert a newline and submit only via click / Ctrl+Enter
- Persistent always-on Remote Control option for desktop app
- [BUG] GitHub connector shows "Connected" but exposes no tools in Cowork (Windows 11, app v1.8555.2.0)
- [BUG] Windows (MSIX): update fails with 'Another program is currently using this file' — app unlaunchable until reboot (every update)
- Add Russian language support for voice input in desktop app
- [FEATURE] CLAUDE_DATA_DIR env var or config key to relocate %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows
- [Feature] Cowork desktop app: support host proxy settings (HTTP/HTTPS/NTLM) for enterprise network environments
- [BUG] Cowork tab missing in desktop app v1.2581.0 on Windows 11
- [BUG] Another program is currently using this file (AFTER UPDATE)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop persistent blank/white screen on Windows — Cowork unusable, multiple reinstalls have no effect
- [BUG] Claude Code process exited with code 1
- [BUG] Claude Code Desktop on windows errors when updating
- Desktop app: No way to remove entries from the "Recent" folders list
- [BUG] Spell checking cannot be turned off, making all entered text hard to read
- [Regression, Windows+macOS] Cross-session messaging silently broken since CCD 2.1.224+ — messages dropped, recipient sessions wedged 15-20 min (hadFirstResponse=false); fixed in 2.1.237 for some installs, stable channel still affected
- [FEATURE] Plan mode panel: use available window width on Desktop (currently narrow centered column)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop Windows installer fails with AddPackage HRESULT 0x80073CF6 after an earlier "successful" install left the package in an inconsistent state
- Desktop app: bring back the context-usage indicator (or make the footer widget configurable)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop installer falsely detects Windows S Mode on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC
- Desktop app: cannot change primary working directory or open new chat
- [BUG] Claude Desktop/Code : impossible to resume a session ( further to /remote-control use )
- [BUG] Claude Desktop update fails with 0x80073CF6 when CoworkVMService is running (Windows)
- [BUG] Shift+Enter in Claude for Windows No Longer Works for NewLine
- [BUG] Desktop 2.37337.1: “Group by” option removed from Code tab sidebar — sessions now only grouped by environment
- [FEATURE] Desktop: assign folders to custom sidebar groups so new sessions are filed automatically
- [FEATURE] Desktop: allow multiple simultaneous spellchecker languages
- Cowork fails on ARM64 (Snapdragon X) despite passing readiness check
- [BUG] 1M context window removed from Desktop Code tab model picker after v1.1.7714 update on Max plan
- [BUG] Archived Code sessions not visible in Archive filter on Claude Desktop (Windows)
- [BUG] Cowork desktop app — bash workspace fails to start repeatedly across sessions
- [BUG] Scroll wheel intercepted by prompt history navigation — no way to disable
- [BUG] Claude Desktop opening when running "claude" in Powershell ( Windows )
- [BUG] Desktop app: context-window usage no longer shown anywhere — ring and usage popover list only plan windows
- [BUG] Claude Code in Claude Desktop is Missing Project Level Folders
- [BUG] Claude Desktop blank screen on Windows + Cowork unusable + sandbox API errors — Max subscriber, 9-day outage
- Remote Control never connects: "Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'session_url')" on desktop app
- Browser pane: no way to grant persistent site permission — per-action prompts persist despite launchPreviewAllowedOrigins, tool allowlist, and bypassPermissions
- Desktop: file paths outside the working directory no longer open inline ("This file is outside the working directory" → Show in Finder) — regression after update
- [BUG] Windows: Claude Code Desktop app shows sessions in sidebar but all message content missing after auto-update — content not persisted to claude-code-sessions JSONL files
- Feature request: visible scratchpad folder in the desktop app
- [BUG] Claude Code Desktop is crashing with new version
- [FEATURE] Desktop sidebar: option to show forks as top-level sessions instead of nested under the parent
- Desktop app draws a mod's AbovePrompt band in only one chat at a time
- [FEATURE] Desktop: option to make the footer usage ring fill with context window usage instead of plan usage
- Claude Desktop: allow opening/resuming local sessions not present in the account's sidebar (multi-account support)
- Desktop app: bypassPermissions mode still prompts for confirmation
- Slash-command picker does not open unless "/" is the first character of the composer, but the command still runs on submit
- Windows desktop app: cross-session send_message silently fails (reports success, never delivered) after runtime 2.1.222→2.1.227 auto-update
- [BUG] /desktop fails on Windows when Claude Desktop is installed as MSIX/Store package (refile of #36079)
- [BUG] Windows desktop app won't launch after package upgrade: "Another program is currently using this file" (0x80070020) -- old version's AppX container silo pinned by an orphaned elevated Claude Code child process
- Feature Request: Russian (and other language) UI localization
- [BUG] Windows desktop: 'Claude Fable 5 is currently unavailable' banner hides the working-directory switcher in active sessions
- [BUG] /desktop fails on Windows - "Failed to open Claude Desktop" despite app being installed and running
- [BUG] showing Mac Key-symbols on windows
- [BUG] "Run on Startup" toggle cannot be turned off
- [BUG] App intermittently goes permanently blank/white during active session — no crash logged, no recovery
- Desktop (Windows): 'Auto-fix CI and address comments' checkbox is a silent no-op since 1.22209.0 (worked in 1.21459.3)
- Regression: 'Last activity' date-range filter gone from desktop Sessions sidebar (overnight, no app update)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop: extension install fully broken — "Install Extension" no-ops and drag-and-drop falls through the modal into the chat
- Desktop app (Windows): cross-session messages silently dropped — held for an approval the UI never offers, then expire (~5 min); regression since app 1.28929.0
- Cowork VM fails on Windows 11 Home: wrong DNS config, missing sessiondata.vhdx, no NAT
- [BUG] Linux Desktop: session_stale_relogin (elevated_auth) forces ~daily re-login; sign-in demanded twice during Cowork folder-access grants
- Desktop (Windows): remote SSH session loses UI message history after reboot
- [BUG] Desktop app: Claude code edit approval diff view changed after April 15 update — red/green diff no longer shown by default
- [BUG] Claude Desktop VM bundle uses 11.3 GB — requesting optimization.
- [FEATURE] Desktop browser preview: auto-allow RFC 6761 reserved TLDs (*.test) that resolve to loopback, like *.localhost
- [FEATURE] Keyboard shortcut for microphone in main chat window (Claude Desktop macOS)
- Windows desktop: stealth update leaves orphaned processes holding old AppX container; new version unlaunchable (0x80070020) until reboot
- Status indicator dots for sessions are hard to distinguish (running / awaiting input / unread) — improve contrast or make configurable
- [FEATURE] Localize auto-generated session titles in "Recents" sidebar
- [BUG] Claude VM workspace does not launch for ARM64 Claude Code.
- [BUG] Desktop 1.44121.4+ never auto-enables Remote Control for scheduled-task sessions (regression from 1.40609.0)
- [BUG] indows 11 Pro: Cowork, Connectors, and Claude Code all broken after latest auto-update — ERR_CONNECTION_RESET + OAuthError
- [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] Desktop app ignores `permissions.allow` rules — prompts for everything, even Claude's own config directory
- /desktop command fails on Windows Store (MSIX) installation
- Desktop 3p Code sessions disappear from UI after restart while JSONL transcripts remain on disk
- [BUG] Cowork mode - Linux bash sandbox never starts on Windows (Workspace unavailable since first launch)
- Desktop app redraws every mod render site on any state change, which breaks Buttons and restarts SVG animations
- [BUG] Windows/MSIX: `git fsmonitor--daemon` spawned by Claude Code inherits the AppX container job, survives the update's forced shutdown, and blocks relaunch of the new version (0x80070020). Root cause + no-reboot workaround
- [BUG] [CRITICAL] Cowork Dispatch responses never render in desktop UI — backend processes successfully but TypeError crashes renderer
- [BUG] SSH Remote: `projects` field in remote ~/.claude.json becomes null after desktop restart — jsonl files intact, UI shows 'No messages yet' for every session
- New session always opens in last used project directory instead of selected one
- [BUG] SSH connection fails after 2.xupdate — password-auth fallback no longer triggered
- [BUG] All sessions lost after Claude Desktop update on Windows (data intact on disk)
- Desktop 1.46388: claude://code/new?folder= starts a scratch workspace when the folder equals the currently selected folder
- [BUG] Browser pane per-action permission prompts never persist for non-localhost origins
- [BUG] Regression: desktop sidebar "Last activity" filter hidden for all Group by modes except State
- Persistent "Fable 5 unavailable" banner has no dismiss and is redundant with the disabled selector entry