anthropics / anthropics/claude-code

Desktop app: file cards and file-preview panel can't reliably show an existing file

Open
#92,831 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:desktop bug platform:windows
Dominant language
Python
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Forks
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PR merge metrics
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Description

**Summary**

Two related, recurring faults in the Claude desktop app's file-delivery paths:

1. File cards sent into chat do nothing useful when clicked — no working preview, no open, no download.
2. The file-preview panel reports "Couldn't find this file" for a path that demonstrably exists — its own "Show in Explorer" button then finds it immediately.

**Environment**

Windows 11. Recurred across an app update: `1.40609.1.0` (3 Sept 2026) → `1.46388.4.0` (8 Sept 2026). Not a one-build regression.

**Evidence**

3 Sept and again 8 Sept: a file referenced by Claude Code (confirmed present via `ls`, correct size, tracked in git) triggered "Couldn't find this file" in the panel. "Show in Explorer" on that same error screen located it immediately — proving the panel's own fallback disagrees with its main lookup.

**Impact**

Real, repeated time lost with no in-app recovery beyond "Show in Explorer," which is itself only offered after the false error, not from the file-card path.

**Suggested fix**

Make "Show in Explorer" use the same path-resolution code as the primary preview load, so the two can't disagree about whether a file exists. Add a working open/preview action to file cards, or make clearly non-interactive if intentional.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

No files or tests are named. Locate the desktop file-card and preview-panel entry points, then compare their path lookup with the Show in Explorer path. Reproduce on Windows 11 with an existing file; done means previews no longer report a false missing file and cards provide a working preview/open/download action or are clearly non-interactive.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
git
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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