Claude Desktop on Linux (beta) changeddesktop-linux
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### Cowork requirements ### Unmet dependencies ### Running as root without --no-sandbox is not supported ### Cowork isn't available
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1313* Ubuntu 22.04 or later, or Debian 12 or later
1414* x86\_64 or arm64
1515
16Other Debian-based distributions that meet these requirements may work but aren't officially tested.
16Other Debian-based distributions that meet these requirements may work but aren't officially tested. On distributions that aren't Debian-based, such as Fedora or Arch, run the [CLI](/docs/en/setup#system-requirements) instead. If you work on Windows with WSL 2, install the Windows desktop app and run sessions inside your distribution; see [Claude Code Desktop in WSL](/docs/en/desktop-wsl).
1717
18### Cowork requirements
19
20Cowork is the desktop tab for [Dispatch and longer agentic work](https://claude.com/docs/cowork/overview). On Linux, Cowork runs those tasks in a virtual machine that the desktop app hosts with QEMU and KVM. To use Cowork, your machine needs:
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22* **Hardware virtualization**: turned on in your firmware settings. Without it, the Cowork tab reports "Cowork requires hardware virtualization (KVM)".
23* **QEMU and UEFI firmware**: `qemu-system-x86`, `ovmf`, and `virtiofsd` on x86\_64, or `qemu-system-arm`, `qemu-efi-aarch64`, and `virtiofsd` on arm64. `apt install claude-desktop` installs them by default as recommended packages. If you installed with `--no-install-recommends`, or your system is a minimal image that skips recommended packages, the Cowork tab reports "Cowork requires QEMU" and shows the `apt install` command to run. Ubuntu 22.04 has no `virtiofsd` package; the app uses a bundled copy there.
24* **Access to `/dev/kvm`**: add your user to the `kvm` group with `sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER`, then log out and back in. Some desktop environments grant the logged-in user access to `/dev/kvm` without the group, but Cowork also needs `/dev/vhost-vsock`, which only `kvm` group members can open. Join the group even if `/dev/kvm` already works for you.
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26The app checks these requirements once at launch: restart it after installing packages, and log out and back in after joining the group. If your kernel has no module directory under `/lib/modules`, which is common on ChromeOS and in container-based Linux environments, the Cowork tab reports that the kernel doesn't include the virtualization support Cowork needs and that it can't be added manually.
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1828## Install
1929
2030Install from Anthropic's apt repository so that updates arrive through your system's regular package updates. Open a terminal and run the commands in each step.
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3343 sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/claude-desktop-archive-keyring.asc https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-desktop/key.asc
3444 ```
3545
36 If this download fails, `apt update` later fails with `NO_PUBKEY BAA929FF1A7ECACE`. Confirm the key downloaded and belongs to Anthropic before continuing:
46 The command prints nothing when it succeeds and a `curl:` error when it doesn't. A missing or wrong key makes `apt update` fail later with `NO_PUBKEY BAA929FF1A7ECACE`, so confirm the key downloaded and belongs to Anthropic before continuing:
3747
3848 ```bash theme={null}
3949 gpg --show-keys /usr/share/keyrings/claude-desktop-archive-keyring.asc
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111121
112122If `sudo apt install claude-desktop` fails with `E: Unable to locate package claude-desktop`, apt didn't find the repository you added. Check the following:
113123
124* Run `sudo apt update` after adding the repository. `apt install` on its own doesn't see a repository you added after the last time you ran `apt update`.
114125* Confirm the repository entry was written. `cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/claude-desktop.list` should show the `deb` line from the [Add Anthropic's apt repository](#install) step. If the file is empty or missing, run that step again.
115126* Confirm your architecture is supported. `dpkg --print-architecture` should print `amd64` or `arm64`. The repository doesn't publish packages for other architectures.
116127* Run `sudo apt update` again and check its output for errors related to `downloads.claude.ai`. A network or key error there means the repository was added but couldn't be reached or verified.
117128
118129If the repository is in place and reachable and the package is still not found, [install from a downloaded file](#install-from-a-downloaded-file) instead.
130
131### Unmet dependencies
132
133If `apt` stops with `The following packages have unmet dependencies` or `Unsatisfied dependencies`, read which dependency it names:
134
135* `libc6 (>= 2.34)`: your distribution is older than the package supports. Ubuntu 20.04 ships `libc6` 2.31. Upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 or later, or Debian 12 or later.
136* All missing dependencies show `not installable` with an `:amd64` or `:arm64` suffix: you downloaded the `.deb` for a different architecture than your machine's. Run `dpkg --print-architecture` and download the matching `.deb`, or [install from the apt repository](#install), which selects the package for your architecture.
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138### Running as root without --no-sandbox is not supported
139
140If `claude-desktop` exits with this message, you launched it as root. Log in as a regular user and launch it from there.
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142### Cowork isn't available
143
144If the Cowork tab shows one of these messages, fix the requirement it names, then restart the app:
145
146* **Cowork requires QEMU**: install the [QEMU and UEFI firmware packages](#cowork-requirements) the message lists.
147* **Cowork requires hardware virtualization (KVM)**: turn on [hardware virtualization](#cowork-requirements) in your firmware settings.
148* **Claude doesn't have permission to use virtualization (/dev/kvm)**: add your user to the [`kvm` group](#cowork-requirements), then log out and back in.
149* **Cowork requires the `vhost_vsock` kernel module**: run `sudo modprobe vhost_vsock`, then restart the app. That loads the module for the current boot only. To load it on every boot, run `echo vhost_vsock | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/vhost_vsock.conf`.
119150
120151## What's not in the Linux beta yet
121152
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