Cowork downloads Linux binary instead of macOS on Intel Mac (exit code 132)

[andreagolini90-dot]

Bug Description

Cowork feature in Claude Desktop crashes immediately with "Claude Code process exited with code 132" (SIGILL - illegal instruction).

Root Cause

The claude-code-vm/2.1.92/claude binary downloaded by the app is an ELF 64-bit Linux executable, not a macOS binary:

$ file ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.92/claude
ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, 
interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0

This cannot run on macOS, hence SIGILL → exit code 132.

Environment

• macOS: 15.6.1 (Build 24G90)
• CPU: Intel Core i5-3210M @ 2.50GHz (x86_64)
• Claude Desktop: 1.2773.0
• claude-code-vm version: 2.1.92
• Claude Code CLI (terminal, works fine): 2.0.14

Steps to Reproduce

1. Update Claude Desktop to 1.2773.0 on Intel Mac
2. Open any Cowork task
3. → "Claude Code process exited with code 132"

Notes

• Chat in Claude Desktop works fine (cloud-based, no local binary needed)
• Claude Code CLI (terminal) works fine (separate installation via npm)
• Only Cowork is broken because it relies on the local claude-code-vm binary
• Deleting claude-code-vm and letting the app re-download produces the same Linux binary
• Worked before updating the app

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Claude Code VM download fails with checksum mismatch - linux-arm64 binary truncated #45538
2. [BUG] Claude Agent in Xcode downloads ARM64 binary on Intel Macs, x64 binary rejected due to code signing #40642
3. [BUG] Cowork broken on macOS arm64: downloads.claude.ai serves 40MB tarball for claude-code 2.1.87, client expects 182MB (TAR_BAD_ARCHIVE) #44485

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[andreagolini90-dot]

This is not a duplicate of the linked issues:

• [BUG] Claude Code VM download fails with checksum mismatch - linux-arm64 binary truncated #45538: ARM Apple Silicon hardware, checksum mismatch on linux-arm64 (resolved via Clear Cache). Different hardware, different failure mode.
• [BUG] Claude Agent in Xcode downloads ARM64 binary on Intel Macs, x64 binary rejected due to code signing #40642: Xcode agent on Intel Mac downloading arm64 instead of x64. Related class (architecture detection), but different product (Xcode vs Cowork) and different mismatch (macOS-ARM vs macOS-x64, not Linux-ELF vs macOS).
• [BUG] Cowork broken on macOS arm64: downloads.claude.ai serves 40MB tarball for claude-code 2.1.87, client expects 182MB (TAR_BAD_ARCHIVE) #44485: M2 ARM with truncated CDN tarball for 2.1.87. Resolved by upgrade to 2.1.92 — I'm already on 2.1.92 and the binary is an ELF Linux executable, not macOS.

My case: Intel Mac (x86_64) macOS 15.6.1, claude-code-vm/2.1.92/claude is literally an ELF 64-bit Linux executable. This is an OS mismatch (Linux vs macOS), not an architecture mismatch within macOS. No other open issue reports this exact symptom on Intel Mac.

Please keep open.

[eloyneto]

Same root cause affects Apple Silicon Macs too — not just Intel. On MacBook Pro M5, Claude Desktop 1.3036.0 (cf521c), today's auto-update installed a Linux ARM64 binary instead of a Darwin one:

$ file ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude
ELF 64-bit LSB executable, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked,
interpreter /lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1, for GNU/Linux 3.7.0

Cowork crashes instantly with "Claude Code process exited with code 1" on any new session. The platform detector in the auto-updater appears to be selecting Linux builds regardless of host OS — so this affects all Macs, not only x86-64.

[LexiMillsS6]

Confirming on macOS ARM, Claude Desktop is downloading the aarch64 Linux binary at v2.1.111

[eloyneto]

Confirming this affects Apple Silicon Macs as well, and the bug is deterministic.
Environment: MacBook Pro M5 (Apple Silicon), Claude Desktop 1.3036.0 (cf521c), claude-code-vm 2.1.111.
The auto-update today installed a Linux ARM64 binary on macOS:

$ file ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude
ELF 64-bit LSB executable, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked,
interpreter /lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1, for GNU/Linux 3.7.0,
BuildID[sha1]=7184009e379dd1270157ebc863f106f3bdd1a40e

Deleting the binary directory and letting the Desktop app redownload pulls the exact same Linux ARM64 binary (same BuildID). So the platform selector isn't flaky — it's consistently serving the Linux build to macOS hosts.
Cowork is completely unusable as a result — new and existing sessions both crash with "Claude Code process exited with code 1".

[Wakisashi]

Confirming on MacOS - 2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
Claude 1.3036.0 (cf521c) 2026-04-16T16:17:33.000Z

Linux VM environment mismatch

$ file ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/*/claude
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=052ef6d8cef1bef39149a31808f3d579db450889, not stripped

Cowork is completely unusable as a result — new and existing sessions both crash with "Claude Code process exited with code 1".

[Wakisashi]

Confirming on MacOS - 2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 Claude 1.3036.0 (cf521c) 2026-04-16T16:17:33.000Z

Linux VM environment mismatch

$ file ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/*/claude ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=052ef6d8cef1bef39149a31808f3d579db450889, not stripped

Cowork is completely unusable as a result — new and existing sessions both crash with "Claude Code process exited with code 1".

Latest update "Claude 1.3109.0 (35cbf6) 2026-04-16T20:32:01.000Z" fixed issue

[cummingsambi-spec]

Confirming on MacOS 2.6 GHz Quad Core Intel i7. Claude version 1.3561.0. Bug is regressive (Cowork previously fine.)

Linux VM environment mismatch:

Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=052ef6d8cef1bef39149a31808f3d579db450889, not stripped

[oscarlimaalphafox]

Still reproducible in version 2.1.111 on Intel Mac (Mac mini late 2012, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, Claude for Mac 1.3883.0). Binary at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude is still ELF 64-bit for GNU/Linux. Previously working until April 20, 2026.

[dev-fat]

macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 - Intel Core i7 - 2.7 GHz The same problem persists.

"Claude Code process exited with code 132"

Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude
/Users/fatihkarakas/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-vm/2.1.111/claude: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=052ef6d8cef1bef39149a31808f3d579db450889, not stripped