[DOCS] (Claude Desktop UI) Misleading authentication token message in Claude Desktop settings

[MatthewGrantAU]

Documentation Type

Unclear/confusing documentation

Documentation Location

Claude Desktop app on MacOS > Settings > Claude Code

Section/Topic

Manage your authorization tokens

Current Documentation

No connected Claude Code instances
When you sign in to Claude Code, your authorization tokens will appear here.

What's Wrong or Missing?

Problem:
This wording suggests that when users authenticate Claude Code CLI (via claude auth login), their tokens will appear in this Desktop settings page. However, this is incorrect - Claude Code CLI uses a separate authentication system (stored in system keychain on macOS) and those tokens never appear in Desktop settings.

Impact:
Users who successfully authenticate with Claude Code CLI become concerned that something is wrong when they see "No connected Claude Code instances" and expect to see their tokens listed.

Suggested Improvement

The message should clarify that this section is specifically for applications/tools that connect to Claude Desktop's local API, not for Claude Code CLI authentication. For example:

Manage your authorization tokens
No connected instances
Authorization tokens for applications connecting to Claude Desktop's API will appear here.
Note: Claude Code CLI uses separate authentication (claude auth login).

Impact

Low - Minor confusion or inconvenience

Additional Context

Environment:

• Claude Desktop version: [latest]
• Claude Code version: 2.0.62
• OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)

This issue its suggested fix were provided by Claude while I was troubleshooting my authentication.

[github-actions]

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

[kanchanapadmanabhan]

Yes. It is still an issue.

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.