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[BUG] Another program is currently using this file (AFTER UPDATE) #51847
Description
Preflight Checklist
- I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
This is now the second update this has happened with... unless I restart my computer I can't reboot claude @anthropic-xabi @ah-anthropic @km-anthropic @np-anthropic it keeps giving me an error
What Should Happen?
Claude should restart without issues
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
Idk just restarting claude lately has caused these issues
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
Before the previous update
Claude Code Version
Latest
Platform
Other
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
With Claude Desktop app this happens when it closes, I get another program is currenlty using this file error. Nothing fixes it except restart.
Activity
Reckoning47 commentedon Apr 22, 2026
Last 2 updates have caused this. I just updated to your exact same version.
It would be nice to have a list of items to display so I don't have to kill processes using a file.
If it is not the intent to allow the user/claude to continue working on what they were previously doing, then a user confirm window popup should be displayed that informs the user that any work in progress will need to be killed and resumed post update.
justinswork commentedon Apr 24, 2026
Duplicate of #42776
robjarawan commentedon May 8, 2026
gatsbys commentedon May 9, 2026
Exactly the same, different computers, same problem.
alexkalner commentedon May 19, 2026
the same on each update.
it is annoying a lot.
trellos commentedon May 19, 2026
It's caused by the Cowork service, I believe. Killing processes and stopping services doesn't help. Super annoying. Please fix.
justinswork commentedon May 19, 2026
@github-actions @kutzki this is a duplicate of #42776
Reckoning47 commentedon May 19, 2026
This could be closed with a reference to #42776
big-dimple commentedon May 20, 2026
"Can this be fixed ASAP? Doesn’t anyone at Anthropic actually use this? Or is everyone there on a Mac and nobody uses Windows?"
kbsmth commentedon Jun 9, 2026
I'm still getting this error as of today. Please let's get this fixed!
LWSS commentedon Jun 15, 2026
for me it was a tail.exe that got stuck, used handle64 to find it
5 remaining items
JerrySui1997 commentedon Jul 10, 2026
taskkill /F /IM powershell.exe /T here is a fix
JerrySui1997 commentedon Jul 10, 2026
taskkill /F /IM pwsh.exe /T
ostrakographos commentedon Jul 17, 2026
I encountered the issue yesterday on an update. I killed the Claude tasks in taskbar as well as in procmon/procex, I could see the process get killed, and I would get the error upon restarting the app. After restarting the computer it would launch, but after an update today I ran into the same issue.
I'd prefer not to kill powershell because I have active servers running through it.
ostrakographos commentedon Jul 17, 2026
Please email me on my account, ref: https://claude.ai/chat/7951cbb0-1526-48ed-bd6c-b5f816a221d7
avsoluc commentedon Sep 4, 2026
Same thing here still today. Can Anthropic PLEASE fix this as it's VERY annoying?
bmarotta-ease commentedon Sep 7, 2026
This is very annoying. I have to reboot my computer every day. Can you please fix it?
PS: Isn't it ironic that the AI motor we use to develop our applications cannot fix its own bugs? How can we trust it?
JRPMike commentedon Sep 8, 2026
I get this all the time after update. Please fix this or don't force us to update. I can't be rebooting my computer every time you decide to push an update.
michaelbeijer commentedon Sep 8, 2026
Just give up and restart your computer. There is no other way. I wasted God knows how many hours with Claude Code, Fable 5.1, etc. It doesn't matter what you try, it just won't work. Just restart.
jeremyevith commentedon Sep 10, 2026
How is a multibillion dollar company unable to solve this after all these months?
It is mind boggling that a solo amatuer dev back in 1990s can code better self-updater by hand than Anthropic.
LWSS commentedon Sep 10, 2026
it's a rare bug, I've only gotten it 2x, also you can fix it just by rebooting so they don't seem to care lol
JRPMike commentedon Sep 10, 2026
It's not rare. It happens literally every time Claude updates. It has for months for me.
thijsterlouw commentedon Sep 11, 2026
Agreed, happens increasingly often for me. Started a week ago or so, now happens very frequently.
benowrlive commentedon Sep 12, 2026
Got this same issue..running Co-work from the browser.
try this in Powershell:
Stop-Service CoworkVMService -Force; Remove-AppxPackage (Get-AppxPackage Claude).PackageFullName
winget install --id Anthropic.Claude --installer-type exe
oxxen commentedon Sep 13, 2026
THANK YOU. This shit has been happening for me every. single. update.
drizzlx commentedon Sep 14, 2026
Thank you so much. After Claude update I have gotten the error for months, and pc restart was the only thing to fix it, until now. Your PowerShell command uninstall and reinstall worked after Claude did an update and got the error.