Anthropic has introduced a dedicated sessions hub for the Claude desktop application, allowing users to manage AI work sessions in a single sidebar. This interface provides a unified view of active tasks, enabling users to filter them by local or cloud environments.
Local sessions operate directly on the user's device and pause if the application is closed. Conversely, cloud sessions run on Anthropic servers and remain active even when the desktop application is shut down or the device is offline.
The cloud session functionality is currently in beta for users on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. The rollout occurred throughout August and September 2026. Users cannot switch environments mid-session and must start a new one to change execution modes.
The new management layer primarily supports Claude Cowork and Code sessions, which are restricted to paid subscribers. Availability of these beta features currently varies between the web client and mobile versions of the platform.
