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[anthropics](https://github.com/anthropics)/ **[claude-code](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code)** Public - [Notifications](https://github.com/login?return_to=%2Fanthropics%2Fclaude-code) You must be signed in to change notification settings - [Fork\\ 22.6k](https://github.com/login?return_to=%2Fanthropics%2Fclaude-code) - [Star\\ 140k](https://github.com/login?return_to=%2Fanthropics%2Fclaude-code) # \[FEATURE REQUEST\] Cowork: Set a default project folder that auto-loads on session start\#44933 [New issue](https://github.com/login?return_to=https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933) Copy link [New issue](https://github.com/login?return_to=https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933) Copy link Open Open [\[FEATURE REQUEST\] Cowork: Set a default project folder that auto-loads on session start](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#top)#44933 Copy link Labels [area:cowork](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22area%3Acowork%22) [enhancementNew feature or request](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22enhancement%22) New feature or request [staleIssue is inactive](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22stale%22) Issue is inactive ## Description [![@cameron-bales-telus-health](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/176712005?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health) [cameron-bales-telus-health](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health) opened [on Apr 7on Apr 8, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issue-4221337499) Issue body actions ### Preflight Checklist - I have searched [existing requests](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20label%3Aenhancement) and this feature hasn't been requested yet This is a single feature request (not multiple features) To pick up a draggable item, press the space bar. While dragging, use the arrow keys to move the item. Press space again to drop the item in its new position, or press escape to cancel. ### Problem Statement Summary When starting a new Cowork session, users must manually select their working folder every time via the project picker. There's no way to set a persistent default. Current behaviour Each new session starts with no folder selected. Users must manually pick their folder before any file operations can proceed. Why it matters Power users who always work from the same folder (e.g. a personal knowledge base or assistant workspace) lose a small but consistent amount of friction every session. It also means any automated or scheduled tasks can't rely on the folder being present without a manual step first. ### Proposed Solution Desired behaviour Allow users to designate a folder as their default Cowork workspace, so it's automatically mounted at the start of every new session — without having to click the folder picker each time. ### Alternative Solutions No real workaround exists. The only option is manually selecting the folder at the start of every session. I've added a reminder to my assistant's instructions to check for the folder and warn me if it's missing, but that really can't work because if I'm not in the right folder, then those instructions are not read. ### Priority Medium - Would be very helpful ### Feature Category Configuration and settings ### Use Case Example I maintain a personal assistant workspace in Obsidian (/Users/T890438/Documents/Obsidian Vault/Robot\_Assistant/). Every Cowork session I start, my first step is always to manually select that folder before I can do anything useful. If I forget, the assistant either fails on file operations or mounts the wrong location. My CLAUDE.md even has an explicit reminder to warn me if the folder isn't mounted — because it's that easy to miss. ### Additional Context _No response_ 👍React with 👍17AlexBuzaev75, jalopezsuarez, mvogel298374, doublemint00, sg-marczimmerman and 12 more ## Activity [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/176712005?s=64&v=4)cameron-bales-telus-health](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health) added [enhancementNew feature or request](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22enhancement%22) New feature or request [on Apr 7on Apr 7, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-24277894607) [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) added [area:cowork](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22area%3Acowork%22) [on Apr 7on Apr 7, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-24277907915) ### github-actions commented on Apr 7on Apr 7, 2026 [![@github-actions](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) [github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) bot [on Apr 7on Apr 7, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4203018718) – with [GitHub Actions](https://help.github.com/en/actions) More actions Found 2 possible duplicate issues: 1. [Cowork: Allow setting a default workspace folder to auto-mount on launch #27514](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/27514) 2. [\[FEATURE\] Cowork: Allow setting a default workspace folder for all sessions #34604](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/34604) This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days. - If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead - To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code) 👎React with 👎2jimmyblain and harela-stack ### cameron-bales-telus-health commented on Apr 9on Apr 9, 2026 [![@cameron-bales-telus-health](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/176712005?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health) [cameron-bales-telus-health](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health) [on Apr 9on Apr 9, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4215297240) Author More actions Still hitting this every session — no workaround exists Quick update after a couple of weeks living with this. I've tried every angle I can find: Global CLAUDE.md — Added a strong "BEFORE doing anything else" blocker instruction telling Claude to check for the mounted folder. It helps, but Claude still skips it sometimes (instruction-following inconsistency, not a technical bug). Cowork Settings instructions field — Added a second layer there. Fires earlier in the session than CLAUDE.md, but still can't trigger an actual mount. Config files — Checked claude\_desktop\_config.json and every other config location I could find. There's no defaultWorkspaceFolder key or anything similar. Bottom line: There is no workaround. Every single Cowork session starts with a manual folder selection. If I forget (easy to do), the first few tool calls either fail or target a temp directory. Scheduled tasks are also affected — they can't reliably assume the workspace is available. I see this has been flagged for auto-closure as a duplicate of [#27514](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/27514) and [#34604](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/34604). Both of those were closed as "not planned" due to inactivity — not because the feature was rejected or delivered. Closing this as a duplicate of a dead issue just buries the request. If there's a better place to track this, I'm happy to move the conversation there, but this is still a real gap with no workaround. [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) mentioned this in 2 issues [on Apr 12on Apr 12, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-5896226550) - [\[FEATURE\] Desktop app: Remember/pin default project folder #46052](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/46052) - [\[FEATURE\] Add a persistent default output folder setting for Cowork sessions #47179](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/47179) ### jimmyblain commented on Apr 25on Apr 25, 2026 [![@jimmyblain](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/187065954?u=d268dcf9e56524c958c70fc5cb2da6ae91ae925c&v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/jimmyblain) [jimmyblain](https://github.com/jimmyblain) [on Apr 25on Apr 25, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4321126151) More actions I NEED this to be implemented. About to deploy Claude Enterprise to ~250 users in a Windows environment, and as a mostly non-technical audience they are most excited about Cowork. This crowd will absolutely forget to select a folder and assume the app is broken the the doc it generated lands in a folder that doesn't exist 👍React with 👍1doublemint00 ### jinwharyu commented on May 10on May 10, 2026 [![@jinwharyu](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/54433735?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/jinwharyu) [jinwharyu](https://github.com/jinwharyu) [on May 10on May 10, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4416578400) More actions +1 — hit a concrete data-corruption-ish symptom directly traceable to the Documents default on Windows. **Symptom**: Cowork's `Edit` tool silently rejected writes to one specific existing file in a workspace placed under `C:\Users\\Documents\Claude\Projects\atom vpn automation\` (the default location). `Write` on a _new_ file in the same folder succeeded. The pattern was reproducible across the session — we ended up generating a `.patched` sibling and doing `Copy-Item -Force` from PowerShell as a workaround for every change. **Root-cause diagnosis** (after running `Get-ItemProperty` on the OneDrive registry, `Get-MpPreference`, `Get-Item Attributes`, `Get-Process SearchIndexer`, and reviewing the Windows Indexing Options GUI): - OneDrive KFM: not applicable (Documents not redirected) - Files On-Demand placeholder: ruled out (`Attributes = Archive` only) - Controlled Folder Access: disabled - **Windows Search Indexer**: actively running, with the `Users` folder in scope and only `AppData` excluded — meaning `Documents\Claude\Projects\...` is being indexed continuously - Folder name with **spaces** (`atom vpn automation`) likely compounds the issue at the 9P mount layer The combination of (a) the indexer holding transient handles on `.py` files and (b) the Edit tool's temp-write→rename pattern on a path with spaces produces the silent failure. Moving the workspace to `C:\dev\atom-vpn-automation\` would have avoided it entirely. **Concrete asks**: 1. The setting proposed in this issue (and in the duplicate-closed [\[FEATURE\] Cowork: Allow setting a default workspace folder for all sessions #34604](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/34604)) — `cowork.defaultWorkspaceFolder` in `claude_desktop_config.json` 2. Even better: change the **dialog pre-fill default** from `~/Documents/Claude/Projects` to a platform-appropriate, non-indexed, non-OneDrive-tracked location on Windows (e.g., `%USERPROFILE%\Claude\Projects` or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude\Projects`) 3. In-dialog warning if the chosen path is in Documents/OneDrive/iCloud, given how frequently this default produces silent file-write failures Environment: Windows 10 (Korean UI), Claude Desktop (latest as of May 2026), Defender RTP on, no third-party AV, Documents indexed by Windows Search. Related: I just filed [#57907](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/57907) about a separate cosmetic bug where the same dialog shows mixed path separators (`C:\Users\\Documents/Claude/Projects`). 👍React with 👍2cameron-bales-telus-health and rgmeseguer-pqsar ### mvogel298374 commented on May 11on May 11, 2026 [![@mvogel298374](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/93988847?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/mvogel298374) [mvogel298374](https://github.com/mvogel298374) [on May 11on May 11, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4424657567) More actions from an end user perspective, it would be nice to have a configuration that allows me to have another default location for potentially large amounts of files to be saved, instead of my small system dir. ### doublemint00 commented on May 15on May 15, 2026 [![@doublemint00](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/285006858?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/doublemint00) [doublemint00](https://github.com/doublemint00) [on May 15on May 15, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4461533807) More actions +1 here as a nontechnical end user trying to adopt Claude Cowork, the default folder is really annoying to do every time I open a new session. In particulat, the default path for me is C:Users/\[name\]/AppData/Roaming/Claude/\[local-agent-mode-sessions\]/\[UUID\]/\[UUID\]/\[UUID\]/outputs and the three layers of GUIDs are causing me trouble with filepaths being too long, essentially impossible to find manually, and Windows Explorer hides the path by default. So if I do forget to mount the right folder I functionally NEED Claude to send me the direct filepath link, which can easily get lost between sessions. [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) added [staleIssue is inactive](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22stale%22) Issue is inactive [on May 30on May 30, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-26148816839) ### harela-stack commented on Jun 1on Jun 1, 2026 [![@harela-stack](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/241776500?v=4&size=48)](https://github.com/harela-stack) [harela-stack](https://github.com/harela-stack) [on Jun 1on Jun 1, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#issuecomment-4597066733) More actions Confirming this on macOS too — it's not Windows-specific, so the `platform:windows` label probably undersells the scope. My setup: a Cowork **Project** with a workspace folder explicitly set. New sessions still don't mount that folder — they fall back to the internal `~/…/local-agent-mode-sessions//outputs` path. So even the Project-level workspace folder, which is supposed to be the persistence mechanism, doesn't reliably carry across sessions. This looks related to [#51513](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/51513), where the project's "On your computer" entry goes stale and points at an already-cleaned session-cache path. One downstream consequence worth calling out: this breaks session-start instruction files. Because the folder isn't mounted at start, Claude can't read it — a circular dependency where the file meant to bootstrap the session lives in the folder the session failed to connect to. The only reliable workaround I've found is mounting the folder through a filesystem MCP server instead, which somewhat defeats the purpose of the built-in folder/project feature. Strong +1 on the proposed solutions. Ranked by impact: 1. A Project-level workspace folder that actually persists and auto-mounts at session start — arguably this should already be the default behavior. 2. A global "default output folder" setting as the fallback for non-project sessions. 3. At minimum, the suggested fallback: prompt to reconnect the last-used folder rather than silently writing to an internal path. The silent fallback is the worst part — files land somewhere unexpected and can get cleaned up before they're retrieved. [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) removed [staleIssue is inactive](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22stale%22) Issue is inactive [on Jun 1on Jun 1, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-26210102133) [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) added [staleIssue is inactive](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22stale%22) Issue is inactive [on Jun 20on Jun 20, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-26999963565) [![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?s=64&v=4)github-actions](https://github.com/apps/github-actions) mentioned this [on Jun 22on Jun 22, 2026](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933#event-7626604729) - [Add "default project directory" setting for new sessions in desktop app #70032](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/70032) [Sign up for free](https://github.com/signup?return_to=https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933)**to join this conversation on GitHub.** Already have an account? [Sign in to comment](https://github.com/login?return_to=https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/44933) ## Metadata ## Metadata ### Assignees No one assigned ### Labels [area:cowork](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22area%3Acowork%22) [enhancementNew feature or request](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22enhancement%22) New feature or request [staleIssue is inactive](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22stale%22) Issue is inactive ### Type No type ### Projects No projects ### Milestone No milestone ### Relationships None yet ### Development No branches or pull requests ### Participants [![@jinwharyu](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/54433735?s=64&v=4)](https://github.com/jinwharyu)[![@mvogel298374](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/93988847?s=64&v=4)](https://github.com/mvogel298374)[![@cameron-bales-telus-health](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/176712005?s=64&v=4)](https://github.com/cameron-bales-telus-health)[![@jimmyblain](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/187065954?s=64&u=d268dcf9e56524c958c70fc5cb2da6ae91ae925c&v=4)](https://github.com/jimmyblain)[![@harela-stack](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/241776500?s=64&v=4)](https://github.com/harela-stack) +1 ## Issue actions - ![](https://github.githubassets.com/assets/github-copilot-app-light-7138e992c731a2bb.png)Open in GitHub Copilot app You can’t perform that action at this time.