Installation and setup changedthird-party/claude-desktop/installation
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#### Back up user data before a package change
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4141
4242## Install the app
4343
44Download the installer for your platform from [claude.com/download](https://claude.com/download).
44Download the installer for your platform:
4545
46| Platform | Installer | Notes |
47| - | - | - |
48| macOS | `.dmg` | Drag **Claude.app** to Applications |
49| Windows | `.msix` | Supports per-machine provisioning for enterprise deployment |
46| Platform | Installer | Download | Notes |
47| - | - | - | - |
48| macOS | `.dmg` | [claude.com/download](https://claude.com/download) | Drag **Claude.app** to Applications |
49| Windows (x64) | `.msix` | [Claude MSIX (x64)](https://claude.ai/api/desktop/win32/x64/msix/latest/redirect) | Supports per-machine provisioning for enterprise deployment |
50| Windows (Arm) | `.msix` | [Claude MSIX (arm64)](https://claude.ai/api/desktop/win32/arm64/msix/latest/redirect) | Supports per-machine provisioning for enterprise deployment |
5051
52On claude.com/download, the Windows download of Claude Desktop is Claude Setup (`Claude Setup.exe`), an interactive installer for a single device. On Windows devices that you manage, deploy the `.msix` package or the [offline installer](#offline-installation), and tell users not to run Claude Setup. Without an administrator's approval, Claude Setup can offer the legacy `.exe` install, which doesn't include Cowork.
53
5154For 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.
5255
5356On Windows, installing the `.msix` package requires administrator rights. Provision the package for all users of each device:
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97100
98101For evaluating before a fleet rollout, for pilots, or for organizations that don't use MDM, a single machine can be configured directly in the app.
99102
1001. Install Claude Desktop from [claude.com/download](https://claude.com/download).
1031. Install Claude Desktop from [claude.com/download](https://claude.com/download). Don't install it on a device where your organization has already deployed Claude Desktop. On Windows, approve the administrator prompt, or have an administrator approve it. Without that approval, the install doesn't include Cowork.
1011042. Launch the app. **Do not sign in or create an Anthropic account.** From the macOS menu bar (or on Windows, the application menu ☰ in the top-left of the login screen), go to **Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode**, then **Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference…** to open the [in-app configuration window](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/in-app-configuration.md).
1021053. Enter the provider, endpoint, and credential values supplied by your administrator.
1031064. Click **Apply Changes**, then click **Save & Restart**. The app relaunches and the sign-in screen now offers the option to start in Claude Desktop on 3P using the configuration you entered.
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240243Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object DisplayName -eq 'Claude'
241244```
242245
243* **One installed package, provisioned, an older `Version` than your offline package**: remove nothing. Have each signed-in user select **☰ > File > Exit** in Claude Desktop. Then run `Add-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackagePath <path to offline .msix> -SkipLicense`. Users get the new version after they next sign in to Windows.
246* **One installed package, provisioned, an older `Version` than your offline package**: remove nothing. Have each signed-in user select **☰ > File > Exit** in Claude Desktop. [Back up each user's data](#back-up-user-data-before-a-package-change). Then run `Add-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackagePath <path to offline .msix> -SkipLicense`. Users get the new version after they next sign in to Windows.
244247* **One installed package, the same `Version`**: follow [Replace a package when the versions match](#replace-a-package-when-the-versions-match). `Add-AppxProvisionedPackage` alone fails with error `0x80073CFB` ("The provided package is already installed") and removes the standard package's provisioning. If the package is provisioned, Anthropic's [`Install-Claude.ps1`](https://downloads.claude.ai/releases/enterprise/intune/Claude-Intune-README.md) prints "Nothing to do.", exits with code 0, and leaves the standard package in place.
245248* **More than one installed package**: have each user sign out of Windows, sign in, start Claude Desktop, and select **☰ > File > Exit**. Then list again.
246249* **Anything else, or still more than one**: remove nothing and contact your Anthropic representative.
247250
251#### Back up user data before a package change
252
253As a precaution before you change the package, back up these folders, where they exist, for every user of the device. They can hold the user's [conversations and settings](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#where-data-lives). Before you copy, run `Get-Process -Name claude -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue` in an elevated Windows PowerShell session, and go on only when it lists nothing.
254
255* `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Claude-3p`
256* `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache`
257
258For the backup:
259
260* **Tool**: use a copy tool that supports paths longer than 260 characters, and check that it copied every file
261* **Size**: each folder can be 10 GB or more
262* **Profiles you can't reach**: a profile in a container that isn't attached, for example, isn't in the backup
263* **Protection**: the backup holds full conversations and sign-ins. Encrypt it, restrict access to it, and delete it when you no longer need it.
264* **Restore**: contact your Anthropic representative
265
248266#### Replace a package when the versions match
249267
250268Copy the offline `.msix` to each device. Complete these steps on one device first.
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252270> [!WARNING]
253271>
254> Once you remove the standard package, no user has Claude Desktop until you provision the offline package. In that time, Windows can delete each user's `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder, for example when the user signs in. Make sure nobody signs in to Windows, signs out, or restarts the device until provisioning succeeds.
255>
256> * **Windows 11**: Windows leaves the [conversations and settings](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#where-data-lives) of Claude Desktop on 3P in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude-3p`. The `Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder can hold data from Claude Desktop used outside 3P.
257> * **Before Windows 11 (builds below 22000)**: the `Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder can also hold the 3P conversations and settings. Contact your Anthropic representative before you start.
272> Once you remove the standard package, no user has Claude Desktop until you provision the offline package. In that time, Windows can delete each user's `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder, for example when the user signs in. Make sure nobody signs in to Windows, signs out, or restarts the device until provisioning succeeds.
258273
259**1. Quit Claude Desktop**
274**1. Check where each user's data is**
260275
276Do this on each device, before you remove its package. From the system account or an elevated session, look in every user's profile, including users who aren't signed in, for these folders:
277
278* `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Local\Claude-3p`
279* `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude-3p`
280
281Find the first case that fits the device:
282
283* **At least one user has one of these folders, or the device's Windows build is below 22000 (for example, Windows 10)**: don't remove the package, and contact your Anthropic representative. The `Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder can hold [conversations and settings](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#where-data-lives) of Claude Desktop on 3P.
284* **You can't look in a user's profile, for example because the user's profile container isn't attached or access is denied**: don't remove the package, and contact your Anthropic representative.
285* **Any other device**: go on to the next step. The conversations and settings of Claude Desktop on 3P stay in `C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Claude-3p`, outside the folder that Windows can delete. The `Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc` folder can hold data from Claude Desktop used outside 3P. The [backup](#back-up-user-data-before-a-package-change) in a later step covers its `LocalCache` folder.
286
287**2. Quit Claude Desktop**
288
261289Have each signed-in user select **☰ > File > Exit**. The removal doesn't close an open app, and the provisioning then fails.
262290
263291List the `claude` processes:
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268296
269297Go on only when it lists nothing.
270298
271**2. Remove the standard package**
299**3. Back up each user's data**
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301Follow [Back up user data before a package change](#back-up-user-data-before-a-package-change).
302
303**4. Remove the standard package**
304
305Run `Get-Process -Name claude -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue` again, and go on only when it lists nothing.
306
273307From the system account, run [`Uninstall-Claude.ps1`](https://downloads.claude.ai/releases/enterprise/intune/Claude-Intune-README.md). Otherwise, run these commands with the `PackageFullName` that `Get-AppxPackage` listed:
274308
275309```powershell theme={null}
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280314Run `Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers -Name Claude` again. If it still lists a package, don't provision, don't have users sign out, and contact your Anthropic representative.
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282**3. Provision the offline package**
316**5. Provision the offline package**
283317
284318Right after the removal, run `Install-Claude.ps1 -MsixPath <path to offline .msix>` from the system account, or this command from an elevated session:
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289323
290324If the command fails with error `0x80070005` ("Access is denied"), or the script prints "ERROR: Access is denied." and exits with code 1, have each signed-in user select **☰ > File > Exit**. Then run it again right away. If it fails again or with another error, don't restart or have users sign out, and contact your Anthropic representative.
291325
292**4. Check the result**
326**6. Check the result**
293327
294328Users get the app after they next sign in to Windows. Have a user without administrator rights who has used Claude Desktop sign in and confirm that a conversation and a Cowork task start and that earlier conversations are listed. If they don't, contact your Anthropic representative.
295329
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