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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Claude desktop app launches but shows no window on macOS 26 [1 comments, 2 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#49164•Fetched 2026-04-17 08:49:04
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Error Message

Error Messages/Logs

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Workarounds tried

  • Force quit and relaunch
  • Deleted ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
  • Reset window position with: defaults delete com.anthropic.claudefordesktop
    NSWindow*
  • Reinstalled the app
  • Ran open -a Claude from Terminal
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Preflight Checklist

  • I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
  • I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Platform

  • macOS: 26.4.1 (Build 25E253, Darwin 25.4.0)
  • Claude.app: installed at /Applications/Claude.app

Problem
When launching the Claude desktop app, no window or UI appears.
The app process starts silently and never shows a window.

Observed behavior

  • The main process and helper processes (GPU, Network) spawn successfully
  • No renderer process is created
  • No window appears
  • No crash report is generated in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/
  • ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ remains empty (no state written)
  • AppleScript reports the app has no windows

Running processes after launch:
/Applications/Claude.app/Contents/MacOS/Claude
Claude Helper (gpu-process)
Claude Helper (network.mojom.NetworkService) [no renderer process]

Steps to reproduce

  1. Launch Claude.app on macOS 26.4.1
  2. No window appears

Workarounds tried

  • Force quit and relaunch
  • Deleted ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
  • Reset window position with: defaults delete com.anthropic.claudefordesktop
    NSWindow*
  • Reinstalled the app
  • Ran open -a Claude from Terminal

Expected behavior The main chat window should appear on launch.

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop should show UI on startup

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude on macOS: 26.4.1 (Build 25E253, Darwin 25.4.0)
  2. Open the app and see if UI window appears

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

Claude Desktop

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

No response

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue might be related to the renderer process not being created, which is necessary for the UI to appear, and a potential fix could involve investigating the process creation logic.

Guidance

  • Investigate why the renderer process is not being created by checking the code responsible for spawning this process.
  • Verify that there are no errors or exceptions being thrown when the app attempts to create the renderer process.
  • Check the system logs or app logs for any clues about what might be preventing the renderer process from starting.
  • Consider adding logging or debugging statements to the code to gain more insight into the process creation flow.

Example

No specific code example can be provided without more context, but a general approach might involve checking the return values or error codes from process creation functions.

Notes

The issue seems specific to the macOS version and the Claude Desktop app, so any solution might need to be tailored to this environment. Without more information about the app's internal workings or logs, it's challenging to provide a precise fix.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by debugging the process creation logic to understand why the renderer process is not being created, as there's not enough information to suggest an upgrade to a fixed version.

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#api#model loading#dependency error#configuration error#environment variable

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