Desktop application changeddesktop
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Upstream edited this page at 23 Oct 2026 19:43 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 23 Oct 2026 20:07 UTC.
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### Environment variables in local sessions #### Exported variable missing or wrong in commands Claude runs ### Local sessions on managed devices ### Local sessions #### Local sessions on managed devices
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827827* **Edit or delete**: hover over the entry and click the gear icon. To delete a local or SSH environment, click **Delete environment** in **Edit environment**.
828828* **Archive cloud environments**: see [Archive an environment](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments.md#archive-an-environment).
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830### Local sessions
830### Environment variables in local sessions
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832The desktop app does not always inherit your full shell environment. On macOS, when you launch the app from the Dock or Finder, it reads your shell profile, such as `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`, to give Claude Code `PATH` and a fixed set of Claude Code variables, but not other variables you export there. On Windows, the app inherits user and system environment variables but does not read PowerShell profiles.
832To set an environment variable for a local session, [add it to a saved local environment](#set-environment-variables-for-local-sessions), then start a new session from that environment.
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834Variables such as `PATH` and `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR` have their own instructions:
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836| Variable | What to do instead |
837| :- | :- |
838| `PATH`, the folders your system searches for programs such as `npm` | See [Session not finding installed tools](#session-not-finding-installed-tools). On Windows, Desktop doesn't read PowerShell profiles, so set `PATH` in your user or system environment variables, then quit and reopen Desktop. |
839| A variable for an MCP server from [`claude_desktop_config.json`](#mcp-servers-from-the-claude-desktop-chat-app) | Quit Desktop, set it in that server's `env` block, then reopen Desktop |
840| [`CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars#variables) or [`CLAUDE_CODE_TMPDIR`](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars#variables) | Set it in [one of the places you'd set a variable for dev servers](#set-environment-variables-for-dev-servers), then quit and reopen Desktop |
841| `API_TIMEOUT_MS`, `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL`, or another variable Desktop sets itself | See [Environment variables Desktop sets itself](#environment-variables-desktop-sets-itself) |
842
843On macOS or Linux, if you already set your variable with `export` in `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`, see [Exported variable missing or wrong in commands Claude runs](#exported-variable-missing-or-wrong-in-commands-claude-runs).
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834845#### Set environment variables for local sessions
835846
836847Add the variables to a saved local environment and start your sessions from it. Desktop [sets some variables itself](#environment-variables-desktop-sets-itself), such as `API_TIMEOUT_MS`, and your sessions get its value for those instead of yours.
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840851> If your environment selector is above the prompt box, you have the [earlier layout](#check-which-layout-you-have), which has no saved local environments. Use the [local environment editor](#use-the-local-environment-editor) instead.
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842**1. Open the environment's form**
853**1. Open a local environment's form**
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844Open [**New environment**](#create-a-saved-environment) or [**Edit environment**](#use-edit-or-remove-a-saved-environment).
855* **To create a saved local environment**: select [**New environment**](#create-a-saved-environment) at the bottom of the environment selector's menu, then the **Local** tab
856* **To change one you already have**: in the environment selector, hover over a saved environment under **Local** and click the gear icon to open [**Edit environment**](#use-edit-or-remove-a-saved-environment)
845857
846858**2. Enter the variables**
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875887Enter one `KEY=value` per line and select **Save changes**. Variables you save here are stored encrypted on your machine. Local sessions get them, except any variable that [Desktop sets itself](#environment-variables-desktop-sets-itself), such as `API_TIMEOUT_MS`. Restart Desktop to give your variables to dev servers.
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889#### Exported variable missing or wrong in commands Claude runs
890
891If a command Claude runs on macOS or Linux doesn't get a variable you set with `export` in `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`, or gets the wrong value, try these in order:
892
893**1. Start a new session**
894
895Ask Claude to run the command again.
896
897**2. Quit and reopen Desktop**
898
899Then start a new session.
900
901**3. Check your saved variables**
902
903If a command gets the wrong value, check whether you also set the variable in a [saved environment](#use-edit-or-remove-a-saved-environment) or the [local environment editor](#use-the-local-environment-editor). If so, change the value there and start a new session.
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905**4. Use a saved environment**
906
907Add the variable to a [saved local environment](#set-environment-variables-for-local-sessions), then start a new session from that environment. For a variable such as `PATH` or `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`, follow [its own instructions](#environment-variables-in-local-sessions) instead.
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909Before v2.1.304, Claude Code doesn't pass exported variables to commands, so [check which version the session runs](#claude-code-version-in-the-code-tab).
910
877911#### Environment variables Desktop sets itself
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879913If you set `API_TIMEOUT_MS` or `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL` and nothing changed in your local sessions, it's because Desktop sets those [variables](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars.md#variables), among others, itself. A local session gets Desktop's value whether you set yours in your shell profile, your Windows user or system variables, the local environment editor, or a saved environment. Moving yours to a settings file doesn't help, because Claude Code [ignores that value](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings-reference.md#how-env-values-interact-with-your-shell) in a local session.
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892926On models with [adaptive reasoning](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config.md#adjust-effort-level), Claude Code ignores the number itself in a positive `MAX_THINKING_TOKENS` value because adaptive reasoning controls thinking depth instead. On Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6, set `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_ADAPTIVE_THINKING` to `1` to use a fixed thinking budget; Fable models, Sonnet 5 and later, Haiku 5.5, and Opus 4.7 and later always use adaptive reasoning and have no fixed-budget mode.
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894#### Local sessions on managed devices
928### Local sessions on managed devices
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896930If the entry for your computer is grayed out in the environment selector, with the tooltip **Disabled by your organization**, your administrator has [turned off local sessions](#managed-settings). On Windows the [WSL](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-wsl.md) entry, whose availability on managed devices is [governed separately](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/admin-setup.md#wsl-sessions-in-claude-code-desktop), is grayed out the same way.
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