CLAUDE_DESKTOP_FIX.md

CLAUDE_DESKTOP(1) User Commands CLAUDE_DESKTOP(1)

NAME claude-desktop-fix - resolve Claude Desktop startup hang on Windows

SYNOPSIS cmd /c "rd /s /q %APPDATA%\Claude"

DESCRIPTION Claude Desktop for Windows may fail to render content after a reboot or update. Symptoms: window opens with cream background, nothing loads, or app hangs after cookie consent dialog.

   Root cause: corrupted Electron cache/session data in %APPDATA%\Claude

SOLUTION 1. Close Claude Desktop if open

   2. Delete the Claude AppData folder:

      cmd /c "rd /s /q %APPDATA%\Claude"

      Note: PowerShell Remove-Item may fail due to file locking by Windows
      Search indexer. The cmd.exe rd command handles this better.

      If files are still locked, reboot and run immediately before launching
      other applications.

   3. Launch Claude Desktop

   4. Wait for cookie consent dialog, accept, then wait for login prompt.
      First launch after cache clear is slow due to reinitialization.

FILES %APPDATA%\Claude
Session data, cache, cookies, local storage

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude\
          Application binaries (do not delete)

   %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\claude.ai-web.log
          WebView console log

SEE ALSO The application is a native Windows Electron app. It does not use WSL. Claude Code (the CLI tool) is separate and does require WSL on Windows.

                               2025-12-17                    CLAUDE_DESKTOP(1)