Solving the issue where Claude Code on desktop cannot resume chat sessions
Claude Desktop integrated Claude Code on November 25, 2025. This was a blessing for someone like me who isn't a fan of typing commands. However, it is still in the Preview version and therefore unstable. For a while, I faced issues where I couldn't continue working once a chat session was interrupted, which led me to explore Gemini instead.
Recently, I felt it was necessary to understand it better. Even though I've been in the valley of despair for so long that I've gotten used to it, seeing the peak of the mountain getting further and further away still makes me a bit anxious.
Symptom
When the OAuth authentication status expires after a long period of inactivity, entering a command again triggers the following error:
API Error: 401 {"type":"error","error":{"type":"authentication_error","message":"OAuth token has expired. Please obtain a new token or refresh your existing token."},"request_id":"req_011CWWoXen3mpmsjy27LGmqn"} · Please run /loginHowever, when following the prompt to execute the /login command, the following abnormal behavior occurs:
- Initial input: The command provides no visual feedback.
- After a delay: The system reports
Unknown slash command: login.
This prevents the chat session from continuing.
This issue has been reported by multiple Claude Desktop (Windows/macOS) users in the official community and has been confirmed as a known bug:
- GitHub Issue #13928: Claude Code for Windows unusable due to OAuth loop
- GitHub Issue #15007: /login Does Not Recover Active Session
Temporary Workaround
WARNING
The following is an unofficial temporary solution that I discovered through trial and error. It is recommended to keep an eye on official updates and wait for a formal fix.
Before the official fix for the authentication reconnection mechanism is released, you can resume operations by following these steps:
- Manually close the Claude Desktop window (although the installer will close it automatically, it is recommended to close it manually first to avoid interference from residual processes).
- Re-run
Claude Setup.exe.
After re-running the installer, the chat session can immediately resume operation without needing to log in again or create a new chat session. This method is only intended as a stopgap measure until an official fix is released.
Changelog
- Initial version created.