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1-5 of 5third-party/claude-desktop/import Changed · +42 / -7 lines
## Troubleshoot the import wizard ### Importing a claude.ai export needs a newer version of this app ### That doesn’t look like a claude.ai export
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55Import brings a copy of your claude.ai conversations and projects into Claude Desktop on third-party (3P), along with any Cowork and Claude Code sessions already on this machine from an earlier install. Everything lands in the local session store described in [User identity and local data](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md), so you can pick up work you started on claude.ai and continue it against your organization's own inference provider.
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7Each import is a one-time copy. New activity on claude.ai after you import does not appear in Claude Desktop unless you import again, and re-running the import does not create duplicates.
7Each import is a one-time copy. New activity on claude.ai after you import does not appear in Claude Desktop unless you import again, and importing from claude.ai again does not create duplicates.
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99## Automatic import of earlier third-party sessions
1010
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103103
104104## Step 2: local Cowork and Code sessions
105105
106The wizard scans this machine for Cowork and Claude Code sessions from an earlier Claude Desktop install and lists what it finds. Choose how far back to include, and add any other folder that holds sessions (for example, a backup or a folder copied from another machine).
106The wizard scans this machine for Cowork and Claude Code sessions from an earlier Claude Desktop install and lists what it finds. Choose how far back to include, and add any other folder that holds sessions (for example, a backup or a folder copied from another machine). On Windows, the folder has to be on a local disk. The wizard can't import one from a network share or a mapped network drive, so copy it to the computer first.
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110110Local sessions found on this machine.
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112112Sessions are copied, not moved. Your original history stays where it is.
113113
114If you add the same folder again, the wizard skips the sessions it marks as already imported and copies the rest. A session that changed after you imported it is copied again as a separate session, and a project can arrive a second time with a number after its name, such as **Northwind (1)**. On Claude Desktop versions before 3.1623.0, the wizard copies every session again. To undo an import, go to **Settings → Import & export** and click **Remove** next to it under **Import history**.
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114116## Step 3: review and import
115117
116118The **Review** step summarizes what will be added. Click **Import** to copy everything into your local session store.
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119121
120122The review summary before import.
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123125
124126Import complete. Imported chats appear in the sidebar and imported projects appear on the Projects page.
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132134The Duplicates step, listing imported projects that match ones you already have.
133135
134* **Merge into existing** moves the imported chats and sessions into your existing project and removes the duplicate. Folders you attached to the duplicate move with them. If your existing project has no instructions of its own, the imported project's instructions are shown there for you to review and accept. Later imports from the same source land in the existing project as well.
136* **Merge into existing** moves the imported chats and sessions into your existing project and removes the duplicate. Folders you attached to the duplicate move with them. If your existing project has no instructions of its own, the imported project's instructions are shown there for you to review and accept. Later imports from the same source land in the existing project as well, except from a folder or zip you added, where the wizard asks again.
135137* **Keep separate** leaves both projects in place. The imported one keeps a numbered name, such as **Northwind (1)**, and Claude Desktop stops offering to merge it.
136138
137139The **Projects** page offers the same two choices, in a row under the duplicate project's card and at the top of the duplicate project's own page. Decide there if your history was brought over automatically when you signed in, so you never saw the wizard, or if you closed the wizard before choosing.
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173175
174176## Export sessions to move them to another device
175177
176When your administrator also sets `exportEnabled` to `true` under `claudeAiImport`, **Settings → Import & export** offers **Export…**, which writes this computer's chats, Cowork tasks, and Code sessions (not terminal Claude Code sessions) to a zip file. On the other device, open the import wizard and select that zip with **Choose file…**; the wizard lists its sessions in the [Cowork & Code step](#step-2-local-cowork-and-code-sessions). The export is a one-time snapshot, not a sync, and the zip contains full conversation content, so handle it as sensitive data.
178When your administrator also sets `exportEnabled` to `true` under `claudeAiImport`, **Settings → Import & export** offers **Export…**, which writes this computer's chats, Cowork tasks, and Code sessions (not terminal Claude Code sessions) to a zip file. On the other device, open the import wizard and select that zip with **Choose file…**; the wizard lists its sessions in the [Cowork & Code step](#step-2-local-cowork-and-code-sessions). Importing the same zip again works as it does for [an added folder](#step-2-local-cowork-and-code-sessions): sessions marked as already imported are skipped, and the rest are copied. The export is a one-time snapshot, not a sync, and the zip contains full conversation content, so handle it as sensitive data.
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178180The zip includes sessions, project names, and each session's output files when they total 100 MB or less. It leaves out project instructions, memory, scheduled tasks, skills, plugins, and attached files. To move those, your administrator can [copy your data to the new device](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#move-a-user-to-a-new-device). Sign-ins and connector connections don't move either way.
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185187* **Project knowledge files and conversation attachments do not.** A member's own export never includes the contents of files uploaded to a project's knowledge or attached to a conversation. This is a security policy on claude.ai, and it applies to both the **Sign in to claude.ai** and **Choose a downloaded file** paths. Imported chats keep the messages that referenced an attachment, but not the file itself. The only export that includes file contents is an organization-level export, which only a workspace owner can request.
186188* **One-time copy.** Imported history does not stay in sync with claude.ai. Run the import again to pick up newer conversations; existing imports are matched and skipped, so you won't get duplicates.
187189* **Download links expire.** The email link from claude.ai is valid for 24 hours. Request a new export if it lapses.
190
191## Troubleshoot the import wizard
192
193Claude Desktop runs each claude.ai import through the Claude CLI binary, the [helper program](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#endpoint-security-software) that also runs your conversations. Unless your organization deploys the [offline installer](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#offline-installation), Claude Desktop downloads the version of the binary it needs separately from the app, when you start a new conversation or task.
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195### Importing a claude.ai export needs a newer version of this app
196
197The wizard shows this message, under **Update Claude to import from claude.ai**, when this computer has only an earlier version of the Claude CLI binary that can't import a claude.ai export. You don't need to update or reinstall Claude Desktop. To download the current version of the binary, follow these steps:
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199**1. Start a new conversation or task**
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201Close the wizard. Send any message in a new conversation or task, not in an existing one.
202
203**2. Wait for Claude's reply**
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205The reply can be slow while Claude Desktop downloads the binary.
206
207**3. Open the import wizard again**
208
209Go to **Settings > Import & export** and click **Import…** to open the wizard. The **Chats** step shows its import options in place of the message.
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211If the message is still there, ask your administrator to follow [Cowork workspace or Claude CLI fails to download](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#cowork-workspace-or-claude-cli-fails-to-download) and to leave the earlier version of the binary in place, because your conversations run on it until the download succeeds.
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213### That doesn’t look like a claude.ai export
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215If the message appears as soon as you choose a file, choose the `.zip` file of your [claude.ai export](#step-1-claude-ai-chats-and-projects) as you downloaded it. If the export came as more than one `.zip` file, choose all of them together.
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217If the message appears after you click **Import** on the **Review** step, your export can still be valid. Claude Desktop 4.16336.0 and earlier shows this message for other failures too. Before you run the import again from **Settings > Import & export**, do the following:
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219* **Check the export files**: if you imported with **Choose file…**, use each `.zip` file as you downloaded it, not renamed or compressed again. On Windows, keep its full path under 260 characters, for example by moving it to your Downloads folder.
220* **Start a new conversation or task**: close the wizard, send any message, and wait for the reply, so the import can run on the current version of the Claude CLI binary.
221
222If the import still fails, go to **Help > Troubleshooting > Generate Diagnostic Report** before you quit Claude Desktop, and click **Export to file**. Review [what the report contains](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#troubleshooting), then send the report's `.zip` file to your administrator, who can pass it to your Anthropic representative.
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third-party/claude-desktop/installation Changed · +14 / -0 lines
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4949
5050For fleet rollouts, distribute the installer through your standard software-distribution mechanism. On the MDM and bootstrap paths, distribute it after the configuration reaches devices; [Choose a configuration delivery model](#choose-a-configuration-delivery-model) covers how the configuration gets there.
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52On Windows, installing the `.msix` package requires administrator rights. Provision the package for all users of each device:
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54* **Intune, with auto-update enabled**: deploy the package as a Win32 app with Anthropic's [install and detection scripts](https://downloads.claude.ai/releases/enterprise/intune/Claude-Intune-README.md), and set the app's **Install behavior** to **System**.
55* **Intune, with auto-update disabled** ([`disableAutoUpdates`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#disableautoupdates)): deploy the package as a line-of-business app in device context, assigned to a device group.
56* **Other software-distribution tools**: from the system account or an elevated PowerShell session, run `Add-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackagePath <path to .msix> -SkipLicense`.
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58Users, including standard users, get the app after they next sign in to Windows.
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60Provisioning leaves an existing legacy `.exe` install in place, and users who open it don't get Cowork. Remove it as each affected user:
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621. Quit Claude Desktop.
632. In a Command Prompt, run `"%LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude\Update.exe" --uninstall -s`.
643. After the command finishes, delete the `%LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude` folder and the Start menu shortcut `%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Claude.lnk`.
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5266## Choose a configuration delivery model
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5468Configuration reaches devices in one of three ways. With the Enterprise Admin Console, Anthropic hosts the configuration and users receive it by signing in to the app. With MDM or a bootstrap server, you typically push a profile to devices with your MDM tooling, and the two differ in what the profile contains.
third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console Changed · +2 / -0 lines
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5252If your company already has a Claude organization that has verified your email domain, usually a Claude Enterprise organization, name that organization's Primary Owner as the Primary Owner of the new one too. The new organization then appears as an additional organization alongside your existing one and uses the existing organization's single sign-on connection, SCIM directory, and verified domains. Your existing organization is not changed. If no existing organization has verified the email domain of the person you name, the new organization starts with its own sign-in settings.
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54You can ask for more than one organization, for example a test organization alongside your production one. To share single sign-on and verified domains across them, [verify the Primary Owner's email domain](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13132885-set-up-single-sign-on-sso) in the first organization before you ask for the next, and name the same Primary Owner. Organizations with separate sign-in settings can't verify the same domain.
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5456## Connect your identity provider
5557
5658Set up single sign-on before inviting users, as described in [Set up single sign-on](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13132885-set-up-single-sign-on-sso). Users then sign in to Claude Desktop through your identity provider, and you can provision them with SCIM. Single sign-on is recommended rather than required. Without it, invited users sign in with their work email address through the standard Claude sign-in, such as a sign-in link emailed to them.
third-party/claude-desktop/extensions Changed · +1 / -1 lines
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351351| - | - |
352352| `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` | Plugin manifest (name, description, version). Required unless a top-level `SKILL.md` serves as the manifest; see the note below this table. A directory with neither is ignored. |
353353| `version.json` | `{"version": "1.2.3"}`. When this string changes, Claude Desktop re-syncs the plugin on next launch. There's no semver ordering, so a downgrade also triggers a re-sync. If absent, the directory's modification time is used instead. |
354| `.mcp.json` | MCP servers bundled with this plugin. A JSON object keyed by server name: `{"mcpServers": {"<name>": {"type": "http", "url": "...", "oauth": true}}}`. A remote entry uses `type` (`http` or `sse`), not `transport`, and supports `url`, `headers`, and `oauth` only. `toolPolicy`, `headersHelper`, and `headersHelperTtlSec` are not read from this file. A local entry gives a `command` with optional `args` and `env` (`type` is `"stdio"` or omitted). Give `command` as a program name on `PATH` or an absolute path, using `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` for the plugin's directory under `org-plugins/`. Claude Desktop starts these local servers itself, including when [`isLocalDevMcpEnabled`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#islocaldevmcpenabled) is `false`. Local entries require Claude Desktop 1.49585.0 or later. A local entry that references `${user_config.<key>}` is skipped, because per-user plugin settings are not available to organization plugins. The diagnostic report's **MCP servers** section lists each server, with the reason for any it skipped. |
354| `.mcp.json` | MCP servers bundled with this plugin. A JSON object keyed by server name: `{"mcpServers": {"<name>": {"type": "http", "url": "...", "oauth": true}}}`. A remote entry uses `type` (`http` or `sse`), not `transport`, and supports `url`, `headers`, and `oauth` only. `toolPolicy`, `headersHelper`, and `headersHelperTtlSec` aren't read from this file. The form `"oauth": true` is for plugins in `org-plugins/`. In a [marketplace plugin or a user-added plugin](#remote-mcp-servers-in-plugins), leave `oauth` out or make it an object, as [MCP in Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp#authenticate-with-remote-mcp-servers) shows. In such a plugin, Claude Code skips a server whose entry says `"oauth": true`. A local entry gives a `command` with optional `args` and `env` (`type` is `"stdio"` or omitted). Give `command` as a program name on `PATH` or an absolute path, using `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` for the plugin's directory under `org-plugins/`. Claude Desktop starts these local servers itself, including when [`isLocalDevMcpEnabled`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#islocaldevmcpenabled) is `false`. Local entries require Claude Desktop 1.49585.0 or later. A local entry that references `${user_config.<key>}` is skipped, because per-user plugin settings aren't available to organization plugins. The diagnostic report's **MCP servers** section lists each server, with the reason for any it skipped. |
355355| `agents/` | Sub-agent definitions. |
356356| `commands/` | Slash-command definitions. |
357357| `skills/` | [Skill](https://claude.com/docs/skills/overview.md) directories. |
third-party/claude-desktop/mdm Changed · +2 / -0 lines
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8484> [!NOTE]
8585>
8686> On Windows, check which registry hive your assignment rules write to. If your assignment rules deliver a profile in user context, it lands in user policy (`HKCU`), and the app ignores user policy entirely when machine policy is present; see [Deploy the configuration](#4-deploy-the-configuration). To vary configuration per user group on Windows, deliver every profile through user policy and keep `HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Claude` empty, or serve per-user configuration from a [bootstrap server](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/bootstrap.md).
87>
88> Before you deliver an exported `.reg` file through user policy, make sure the registry path in the file starts with `HKEY_CURRENT_USER`, not `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE`.
8789
8890## 3. Allow required network egress
8991