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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [FEATURE] Share authentication session between Claude Code CLI and Claude desktop app

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Root Cause

  • Reduces friction for users who use both products on the same machine.
  • Avoids re-typing email/password (or re-doing SSO) for an account that's already authenticated locally.
  • Matches the experience of other ecosystems where CLI and desktop app share credentials (e.g. gh CLI + GitHub Desktop, gcloud + Google Cloud Console app).
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Preflight Checklist

  • I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
  • This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Problem

Claude Code (CLI) and the Claude desktop app run on the same machine but have completely separate authentication systems. Even after I'm already logged into Claude Code via my Claude subscription, opening the Claude desktop app requires me to enter my email and go through the login flow again.

Both products authenticate to the same Anthropic account, so this duplicate login feels unnecessary.

Current Behavior

  • Claude Code stores credentials in the macOS Keychain.
  • The Claude desktop app maintains its own independent session.
  • There's no "sign in with Claude Code" option in the desktop app, and no documented way to bridge the two.

Proposed Solution

Proposed Solution

Any one of the following would solve this:

  1. "Sign in with Claude Code" button in the desktop app — detects an active CLI session on the same machine and signs the user into the same account.
  2. Shared Keychain entry / SSO between the two products so logging into one logs you into the other.
  3. Deep link from CLI (e.g. claude auth open-app) that hands off the existing session to the desktop app.

Why This Matters

  • Reduces friction for users who use both products on the same machine.
  • Avoids re-typing email/password (or re-doing SSO) for an account that's already authenticated locally.
  • Matches the experience of other ecosystems where CLI and desktop app share credentials (e.g. gh CLI + GitHub Desktop, gcloud + Google Cloud Console app).

Environment

  • OS: macOS (Darwin 25.0.0)
  • Claude Code: installed and authenticated
  • Claude desktop app: installed on the same machine

Alternative Solutions

No response

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

No response

Additional Context

No response

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