What happened
The "Reset Application Data" confirmation dialog in the Claude desktop app says it will delete "settings, cache, and login information." It does not mention that it also permanently deletes: all Cowork session history and transcripts, all unsaved session outputs (the default save location lives inside ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/), and locally stored user-created skills. None of this syncs to claude.ai, and none of it is recoverable after the reset.
Impact
I reset app data expecting to lose settings and my login session. Instead I lost every Cowork session I had, plus a skill I had created that same morning. Anything left in the default output location was destroyed; only files explicitly saved to user folders survived.
Expected behavior
The dialog should state explicitly that all local session data and chat history will be permanently and irrecoverably deleted, and ideally offer an export/backup step before proceeding. The word "cache" implies rebuildable data — the opposite of what actually happens.
Environment
macOS, Claude desktop app (Cowork), 2026-06-05.
Related: #45076, #38055, #48334
What happened
The "Reset Application Data" confirmation dialog in the Claude desktop app says it will delete "settings, cache, and login information." It does not mention that it also permanently deletes: all Cowork session history and transcripts, all unsaved session outputs (the default save location lives inside
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/), and locally stored user-created skills. None of this syncs to claude.ai, and none of it is recoverable after the reset.Impact
I reset app data expecting to lose settings and my login session. Instead I lost every Cowork session I had, plus a skill I had created that same morning. Anything left in the default output location was destroyed; only files explicitly saved to user folders survived.
Expected behavior
The dialog should state explicitly that all local session data and chat history will be permanently and irrecoverably deleted, and ideally offer an export/backup step before proceeding. The word "cache" implies rebuildable data — the opposite of what actually happens.
Environment
macOS, Claude desktop app (Cowork), 2026-06-05.
Related: #45076, #38055, #48334