User identity and local data changedthird-party/claude-desktop/data-storage
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33> How Claude Desktop on 3P identifies users and where it stores conversations, settings, and credentials on disk
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5Claude Desktop on third-party (3P) keeps conversations, settings, and credentials on the device. For [SSH remote sessions](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/ssh-remote-sessions), the remote host also stores their conversations and receives your inference credential. When the configuration comes from MDM, a local file, or a bootstrap server, users have no Anthropic account and never sign in to Anthropic, and Anthropic holds no per-user state. When your organization manages the app from the [Enterprise Admin Console](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console), users sign in with a Claude account to receive their settings, and [Where your data goes](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console#where-your-data-goes) lists what Anthropic stores in that case.
5Claude Desktop on third-party (3P) keeps conversations, settings, and credentials on the device. For [SSH remote sessions](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/ssh-remote-sessions.md), the remote host also stores their conversations and receives your inference credential. When the configuration comes from MDM, a local file, or a bootstrap server, users have no Anthropic account and never sign in to Anthropic, and Anthropic holds no per-user state. When your organization manages the app from the [Enterprise Admin Console](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md), users sign in with a Claude account to receive their settings, and [Where your data goes](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md#where-your-data-goes) lists what Anthropic stores in that case.
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77## Identity
88
9When the app first launches in 3P mode, it generates a random UUID and writes it (base64-encoded) to the `ant-did` file in the application-data directory. When the configuration comes from MDM, a local file, or a bootstrap server, this identifier and the `deploymentOrganizationUuid` from your managed configuration are what's attached to telemetry events. The identifier is random per device and per OS-user account, and Anthropic cannot trace it back to a real device or person. In an organization managed from the [Enterprise Admin Console](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console), users sign in with a Claude account, so the app is not anonymous to Anthropic there, and [Where your data goes](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console#where-your-data-goes) describes what Anthropic stores in that case.
9When the app first launches in 3P mode, it generates a random UUID and writes it (base64-encoded) to the `ant-did` file in the application-data directory. When the configuration comes from MDM, a local file, or a bootstrap server, this identifier and the `deploymentOrganizationUuid` from your managed configuration are what's attached to telemetry events. The identifier is random per device and per OS-user account, and Anthropic cannot trace it back to a real device or person. In an organization managed from the [Enterprise Admin Console](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md), users sign in with a Claude account, so the app is not anonymous to Anthropic there, and [Where your data goes](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md#where-your-data-goes) describes what Anthropic stores in that case.
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11The OpenTelemetry export to your own collector is the exception: it identifies the user directly. Each exported record carries an `enduser.id` resource attribute with the user's identity and a `process.owner` attribute with the operating-system login name, so attributing activity to named users needs no collector-side correlation. See [User attribution](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/telemetry#user-attribution) for where the identity comes from and the `endUserAttribution` key that controls it.
11The OpenTelemetry export to your own collector is the exception: it identifies the user directly. Each exported record carries an `enduser.id` resource attribute with the user's identity and a `process.owner` attribute with the operating-system login name, so attributing activity to named users needs no collector-side correlation. See [User attribution](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/telemetry.md#user-attribution) for where the identity comes from and the `endUserAttribution` key that controls it.
1212
1313## Where data lives
1414
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3838| `claude-code-sessions/` | Code session records holding each session's working folder, settings, title, and sometimes a short summary. The conversation transcripts themselves are in Claude Code's own store at `~/.claude/projects/`, outside this directory. |
3939| `claude-code/`, `claude-code-vm/` | Claude Code binary and VM workspace data for Code sessions. |
4040| `vm_bundles/` | Cached copy of the VM workspace bundle that Cowork sessions run in, plus the data disk the app creates to hold those sessions' home directories inside the VM. |
41| `cowork_plugins/` | User-installed and [org-provisioned](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/extensions#organization-plugins-admin) plugins. Created on first plugin install. |
41| `cowork_plugins/` | User-installed and [org-provisioned](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/extensions.md#organization-plugins-admin) plugins. Created on first plugin install. |
4242| `IndexedDB/`, `Local Storage/`, `Session Storage/` | Renderer-side UI state (window layout, recent folders, preferences). |
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4444Files in this directory are written with owner-only permissions so other OS accounts on the same machine cannot read them. The app encrypts stored sign-in tokens and similar secrets with the operating system's secure storage (see [Credentials](#credentials)), but not conversations, settings, or locally applied configuration, including an API key saved from the in-app configuration window. Protection at rest for those files depends on the device's full-disk encryption, such as FileVault or BitLocker.
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5454Users can review and delete individual entries, or pause memory for new sessions and conversations (existing files are kept but not read or updated), under **Settings → Cowork → Memory**. The same page exposes a **Global instructions** editor for the `CLAUDE.md` file that is included in every session.
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56Each [project](/docs/cowork/guide/projects) also keeps its own memory under `local-agent-mode-sessions/.../spaces/<projectId>/memory/`. Cowork sessions inside a project read and update the project's memory rather than the files under `local-agent-mode-sessions/.../memory/memory/`. A Chat conversation inside a project can also read and update the project's memory, as described under [Chat conversations](#chat-conversations).
56Each [project](/docs/cowork/guide/projects.md) also keeps its own memory under `local-agent-mode-sessions/.../spaces/<projectId>/memory/`. Cowork sessions inside a project read and update the project's memory rather than the files under `local-agent-mode-sessions/.../memory/memory/`. A Chat conversation inside a project can also read and update the project's memory, as described under [Chat conversations](#chat-conversations).
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5858## Chat conversations
5959
60[Chat](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat) conversations follow the same storage model as Cowork sessions: each conversation is a session state file plus a working directory under `local-agent-mode-sessions/`, in the layout described in the table above. The state file records the conversation; the working directory holds the transcript, an `uploads/` directory with copies (or hard links) of files attached to the conversation, an `outputs/` directory for files Claude creates during the conversation (its scratch space), and the same HMAC-chained `audit.jsonl` event log. Because attachments are hard-linked where the filesystem allows it, edits made to the original file while the conversation is open can be visible to the conversation. Conversation content leaves the device only as inference requests to your configured provider, as web search queries to your configured search backend, through web access your egress configuration allows, through [sandbox network access](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat#sandbox-network-access), in connector tool calls permitted by your `toolPolicy` configuration and the user's approvals, and, if you have enabled [content capture](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/telemetry#content-capture), in telemetry to your own collector.
60[Chat](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md) conversations follow the same storage model as Cowork sessions: each conversation is a session state file plus a working directory under `local-agent-mode-sessions/`, in the layout described in the table above. The state file records the conversation; the working directory holds the transcript, an `uploads/` directory with copies (or hard links) of files attached to the conversation, an `outputs/` directory for files Claude creates during the conversation (its scratch space), and the same HMAC-chained `audit.jsonl` event log. Because attachments are hard-linked where the filesystem allows it, edits made to the original file while the conversation is open can be visible to the conversation. Conversation content leaves the device only as inference requests to your configured provider, as web search queries to your configured search backend, through web access your egress configuration allows, through [sandbox network access](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md#sandbox-network-access), in connector tool calls permitted by your `toolPolicy` configuration and the user's approvals, and, if you have enabled [content capture](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/telemetry.md#content-capture), in telemetry to your own collector.
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6262For the questions security reviews most often ask about Chat:
6363
6464* **Chat reads and updates memory only inside projects.** A Chat conversation inside a project can read and update that project's memory unless memory was paused when the conversation started. Chat conversations outside a project don't read or update memory.
65* **Project folders are read-only.** A Chat conversation inside a project can read files in folders added to the project in Claude Desktop, under the conditions in [Project folders in Chat](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat#project-folders-in-chat), and cannot change them.
65* **Project folders are read-only.** A Chat conversation inside a project can read files in folders added to the project in Claude Desktop, under the conditions in [Project folders in Chat](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md#project-folders-in-chat), and cannot change them.
6666* **Claude cannot search past chats.** Users can search their own conversations in the app, which scans the per-session files on the device on demand, but there is no index of conversation content, server-side or local (history exists only as the per-session files above), and a Chat conversation has no tools for listing or reading other sessions' transcripts. Each conversation is isolated to its own directory.
67* **The advanced file analysis sandbox writes only inside the session directory.** When [advanced file analysis](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat#advanced-file-analysis) is enabled, code runs in a local sandbox. Commands in it can reach the hosts in `coworkEgressAllowedHosts`, as described under [Sandbox network access](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat#sandbox-network-access). The sandbox writes only to the conversation's `outputs/` directory, and reads its `uploads/` directory, its transcript, and its saved tool results plus, for a conversation inside a project, that project's memory. For a conversation inside a project, the sandbox can also read the folders added to the project in Claude Desktop, under the conditions in [Advanced file analysis](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat#advanced-file-analysis).
67* **The advanced file analysis sandbox writes only inside the session directory.** When [advanced file analysis](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md#advanced-file-analysis) is enabled, code runs in a local sandbox. Commands in it can reach the hosts in `coworkEgressAllowedHosts`, as described under [Sandbox network access](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md#sandbox-network-access). The sandbox writes only to the conversation's `outputs/` directory, and reads its `uploads/` directory, its transcript, and its saved tool results plus, for a conversation inside a project, that project's memory. For a conversation inside a project, the sandbox can also read the folders added to the project in Claude Desktop, under the conditions in [Advanced file analysis](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/chat.md#advanced-file-analysis).
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6969Deleting a conversation's session state file and working directory removes all of this; there is no other copy.
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9393By default, chats, Cowork tasks, and Code sessions stay on the device until the user deletes them. To delete them after a period without activity, set [`chatSessionRetentionDays`](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#chatsessionretentiondays), [`coworkSessionRetentionDays`](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#coworksessionretentiondays), or [`codeSessionRetentionDays`](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#codesessionretentiondays) to a number of days from 1 to 3650. Each key covers one kind of session, and a kind you leave unset is kept until the user deletes it. Idle time counts from the session's last activity, and pinned sessions are not exempt.
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95With [Unified Claude](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/unified-claude) on, a conversation started from the home screen on a device that can run Cowork is a Cowork session. `coworkSessionRetentionDays` covers it along with users' other Cowork tasks, and `chatSessionRetentionDays` still covers Chat conversations. While `coworkSessionRetentionDays` is unset, neither key deletes a home-screen conversation that is a Cowork session, even if `chatSessionRetentionDays` is set. If you use `chatSessionRetentionDays`, keep it and set `coworkSessionRetentionDays` as well.
95With [Unified Claude](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/unified-claude.md) on, a conversation started from the home screen on a device that can run Cowork is a Cowork session. `coworkSessionRetentionDays` covers it along with users' other Cowork tasks, and `chatSessionRetentionDays` still covers Chat conversations. While `coworkSessionRetentionDays` is unset, neither key deletes a home-screen conversation that is a Cowork session, even if `chatSessionRetentionDays` is set. If you use `chatSessionRetentionDays`, keep it and set `coworkSessionRetentionDays` as well.
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9797The app deletes whole sessions in the background. A chat or Cowork task is deleted with its attached files and outputs, and a Code session with its conversation. Projects, memory, and the files in a Code session's working folder stay, and Code sessions on an SSH host are not affected. A session that is running or open on screen is skipped until a later pass. To suspend all automatic deletion for some users, for example under a legal hold, set [`sessionRetentionHold`](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#sessionretentionhold) to `true` for them. While the hold is on, nothing is deleted, and a device that gets its configuration from a server and cannot reach that server also deletes nothing. These keys require Claude Desktop 1.52386.0 or later.
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153153
154154## Removing data
155155
156To fully reset a device's Claude Desktop on 3P state, delete the application-data directory above and the `~/Claude/` user-files folder. Code session transcripts are in Claude Code's store at `~/.claude/projects/`, which Claude Code in the terminal also uses, so delete them there separately if you need to remove them. For [SSH remote sessions](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/ssh-remote-sessions#host-requirements), transcripts are in `~/.claude/projects/` and attached files in `~/.claude/uploads/` in the SSH user's home directory on the remote host. Claude Desktop also copies those transcripts to the device, into folders in `~/.claude/projects/` whose names start with `ssh-`, so delete them in both places.
156To fully reset a device's Claude Desktop on 3P state, delete the application-data directory above and the `~/Claude/` user-files folder. Code session transcripts are in Claude Code's store at `~/.claude/projects/`, which Claude Code in the terminal also uses, so delete them there separately if you need to remove them. For [SSH remote sessions](/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/ssh-remote-sessions.md#host-requirements), transcripts are in `~/.claude/projects/` and attached files in `~/.claude/uploads/` in the SSH user's home directory on the remote host. Claude Desktop also copies those transcripts to the device, into folders in `~/.claude/projects/` whose names start with `ssh-`, so delete them in both places.
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158158To return to standard Claude Desktop without removing data, choose the Anthropic sign-in option on the sign-in screen; to also remove the locally authored 3P configuration, delete the `configLibrary/` directory.
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