Claude Cowork tab missing on Windows
A missing Cowork tab on Windows usually means Cowork's local VM cannot start: Virtual Machine Platform is off, virtualization is disabled in BIOS, or the Host Compute services (vmcompute, hns, vfpext) are missing. Check those services in PowerShell, enable Virtual Machine Platform, run bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto and restart. On Windows 11 Home this can still fail, because Home lacks full Hyper-V.
Likely cause
Cowork runs inside a local VM, so it needs Virtual Machine Platform, hardware virtualization in BIOS, and the Host Compute services (vmcompute, hns, vfpext). Anthropic's docs do not name a Windows edition, but Windows 11 Home lacks full Hyper-V and parts of the HCS stack, and many Home users report Cowork failing there. The readiness checker can also falsely report 'ready' on Home because Windows 11 still reports its version as 10.0.
The fix
- 1 In an admin PowerShell, run Get-Service vmcompute, hns, vfpext | Select Name, Status. These are the services Anthropic lists as Cowork dependencies. Do not judge by Get-Service vmms: Home never has vmms, so it tells you nothing.
- 2 Turn on Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform in Turn Windows features on or off, confirm virtualization is enabled in BIOS, run bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto, and restart.
- 3 Update Claude Desktop to the latest build and reopen it.
- 4 If vmcompute, hns or vfpext are still missing on Windows 11 Home after all that, Home's missing pieces are the likely cause: upgrade to Pro for the desktop app, or use Cowork on the web at claude.ai.
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Frequently asked questions
The readiness checker says my system is ready, but the tab is still missing. Why?
On Windows 11 Home the checker can falsely report 'ready' because Windows 11 still reports its version internally as 10.0 and the checker misidentifies the OS. Check the vmcompute, hns and vfpext services yourself instead.
Does Cowork work on Windows 11 Home at all?
It's a gray area. Anthropic's documented requirement is Virtual Machine Platform, which Home has, and the docs do not name an edition. In practice many Home users report Cowork failing because Home lacks full Hyper-V and parts of the HCS stack. Try the steps above first; if the services are still missing, upgrade to Pro or use Cowork on the web.
I'm on Pro with everything enabled but still don't see the tab. What now?
This may be the 'yukonSilver' platform-detection bug. The workaround is a clean reinstall: stop and delete CoworkVMService, clear the Claude app data folders, then reinstall the latest build from the official download.
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