claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Cowork "Download failed" on macOS — claude-code-vm runtime missing from app bundle

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?

Cowork consistently fails with "Failed to start Claude's workspace — Download failed. Check your internet connection and try again." The download bar appears but gets stuck at 1-2% and eventually fails. Regular Chat mode works perfectly. Only Cowork is affected.

Running this command confirms the runtime binary is completely missing from the app bundle: find /Applications/Claude.app -name "claude-code-vm*" (returns nothing)

What Should Happen?

Cowork workspace should download and start successfully.

Error Messages/Logs

Failed to start Claude's workspace — Download failed. Check your internet connection and try again.
find /Applications/Claude.app -name "claude-code-vm*" returns nothing

Steps to Reproduce

1. Download and install Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download on macOS
2. Open Cowork tab
3. Observe "Setting up Claude's workspace..." starts but gets stuck at 1-2%
4. Eventually fails with "Download failed"
5. Run: find /Applications/Claude.app -name "claude-code-vm*" — returns nothing

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.1.158 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Chat mode works fine. Issue is only with Cowork. Tried reinstalling multiple times, cleared ~/Library/Application Support/Claude and ~/Library/Caches/Claude — issue persists. Located in India