Email links don't open the desktop app, but instead open in a browser

Asana Community Product Ideas
,
1
  1. Issue: Asana web app never offers to open links (email notifications) in the desktop app. In Settings it keeps showing the “Download the desktop app” banner
  2. Confirmed NOT a client/OS/browser issue:
    • Desktop app v2.8.1 is installed and I am logged in
    • Registry protocol handler HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\asanadesktop\shell\open\command is correctly registered
    • Manually invoking asanadesktop://app/0/1234567/list via Win+R opens the desktop app instantly
    • Identical behavior reproduced in both Chrome and Edge (Chromium) — to rule out any browser-specific settings, extensions, or protocol handler permissions
    • I already reinstalled the desktop app fresh from asana.com — no change
  3. Conclusion: the desktop-app-installed flag/detection on the account or session side isn’t being set, so the web app probably never generates asanadesktop:// links
  4. Browsers/OS: Chrome and Edge Chromium (both latest version) on Windows 11

Please open an official bug for this behaviour, instead of just rapidly closing all similar reports without giving a real solution.

1 Like
2

Btw, I tried using your Support chatbot, it just ran around in circles and didn’t give me a solution.
However, it did ask me to run the connectivity test on https://connectivity-test.asana.com/ , which I did.
Its results were 100% successful, so that isn’t the problem either.

3

If anyone found a working solution (which I haven’t listed yet as tried-but-failed above) please let me know

4

I was having the same issue but found a solution that worked for me. First, log OUT of both the Asana app and web browser account. Then sign back in on the desktop app first, which should direct you to the web browser to log in. Type in your credentials & login, then a pop-up window should appear with a check box for opening links in the Asana app. Now the email links should open in Asana (sometimes they first open a web browser, which then re-directs to the app). For some reason this is a setting that is only prompted when Asana thinks you are logging in for the first time on a computer that ALREADY has the app installed.

Hope this helps!