claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Cowork "Add folder" silently fails on Windows MSIX install — wrong vmStorageDir path [1 participants]

Adding a folder to a Cowork session silently fails with "Session VM process not available." The folder picker opens, a folder is selected, but it is never added to the session. No error is shown beyond the initial banner message.

Error Messages/Logs

Error Messages/Logs The log ends here — no error, no mount attempt, no further output. The vmStorageDir path (C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude-code-vm) does not exist on MSIX installs. The correct base path is C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude. Manually creating the missing directory tree did not resolve the issue. Observe: folder is never added, "Session VM process not available" error appears The failure appears to be that getVMStorageSubpath uses a non-virtualized %APPDATA% path instead of the MSIX-virtualized one, and then silently swallows the resulting error with no log output

TL;DR

The issue is likely due to the incorrect usage of the %APPDATA% path in the getVMStorageSubpath function, which is not compatible with MSIX installations, and a workaround may involve modifying the path to use the MSIX-virtualized directory.

Guidance

• Verify that the vmStorageDir path is correctly set to the MSIX-virtualized directory, which is C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\ instead of C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude-code-vm.
• Check the getVMStorageSubpath function to ensure it is using the correct path, and consider modifying it to handle MSIX installations correctly.
• Manually creating the missing directory tree did not resolve the issue, so further investigation into the getVMStorageSubpath function and its error handling is needed.
• Review the logs again to see if there are any other clues about what might be causing the "Session VM process not available" error.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue is more related to the configuration and path handling.

Notes

The issue seems to be specific to MSIX installations on Windows 10 Pro, and the correct solution may involve modifying the getVMStorageSubpath function to handle this case correctly. Further investigation is needed to determine the root cause and the best solution.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by modifying the getVMStorageSubpath function to use the correct MSIX-virtualized directory path, as this is likely to resolve the issue. This is recommended because the current implementation is not compatible with MSIX installations, and a workaround is needed to ensure correct functionality.