Preflight Checklist
What's Wrong?
The Cowork tab has completely disappeared from Claude Desktop on macOS after an automatic update. Cowork was working normally prior to this build. Only Chat and Code tabs are visible.
Root cause confirmed via diagnostic command:
ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork
→ Returns empty. Cowork runtime is not packaged in this build.
What Should Happen?
Cowork tab should appear in the top navigation bar alongside Chat and Code, as it did before the auto-update.
Error Messages/Logs
Diagnostic command:
ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork
Result: no output (empty)
Cowork runtime is completely absent from the app bundle.
Steps to Reproduce
- Claude Desktop auto-updated to v1.7196.1 (abcd65) on macOS
- Launch the app — only Chat and Code tabs visible, Cowork tab absent
- Run diagnostic command:
ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork
→ returns empty (runtime missing from bundle)
- Full uninstall + manual deletion of ~/Library/Application Support/Claude → reinstall → same result
- System reboot → same result
Related issues: #37208, #48310, #49428, #50722
Claude Model
Sonnet (default)
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
No response
Claude Code Version
2.1.133 (Claude Code)
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
Subscription plan: Max
Additional error in Claude Desktop: "Could not attach to MCP server things"
appeared simultaneously with the Cowork tab disappearing.
Preflight Checklist
What's Wrong?
The Cowork tab has completely disappeared from Claude Desktop on macOS after an automatic update. Cowork was working normally prior to this build. Only Chat and Code tabs are visible.
Root cause confirmed via diagnostic command:
ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork
→ Returns empty. Cowork runtime is not packaged in this build.
What Should Happen?
Cowork tab should appear in the top navigation bar alongside Chat and Code, as it did before the auto-update.
Error Messages/Logs
Diagnostic command: ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork Result: no output (empty) Cowork runtime is completely absent from the app bundle.Steps to Reproduce
ls /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/ | grep -i cowork
→ returns empty (runtime missing from bundle)
Related issues: #37208, #48310, #49428, #50722
Claude Model
Sonnet (default)
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
No response
Claude Code Version
2.1.133 (Claude Code)
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
Subscription plan: Max
Additional error in Claude Desktop: "Could not attach to MCP server things"
appeared simultaneously with the Cowork tab disappearing.