catalog / environment

Claude Desktop's bash runs in a sandbox, not the user's real filesystem

schema-only

Claude Desktop's bash runs in a Docker-based sandbox, not the user's real macOS/Windows shell — ~, host paths, and host-installed binaries are not present.

  • Category: environment
  • Applies to: Claude.ai ✅ (separate sandbox) | Claude Code ❌ (host filesystem) | Claude Desktop ✅
  • Verification tier: schema-only
  • Severity: Functional gap

Symptom

A SKILL.md that references ~/Documents/... or other host paths works on Claude Code (real home dir) and fails on Claude Desktop (no real home; the workspace is a fresh sandbox).

Cause

Desktop's mcp__workspace__bash runs in an isolated sandbox at /sessions/<id>/mnt/, not the user's real filesystem. Code's Bash runs on the host.

Fix

Skills assuming "the user's real filesystem" only work on Code. For portable file workflows on Desktop, expect mounted folders under /sessions/.../mnt/ and use request_cowork_directory to discover paths.

Notes

Related: ../cross-platform/bash-tool-three-shapes.md, ../tool-behaviors/desktop-bash-no-state-carryover.md.