claude send button greyed out

It can be incredibly frustrating when you have typed out a detailed prompt only to find that the orange arrow or send button is completely greyed out and unclickable. This lock usually occurs due to browser script rendering delays, file upload holds, or context window limits.

Follow these troubleshooting steps to unlock the send button and submit your prompt.

Check for empty prompt characters

Claude’s interface requires active text or a valid attachment to enable the submit button. Sometimes, invisible formatting characters, trailing spaces, or carriage returns from pasted text can trick the text editor into thinking the input field is empty or invalid. Try clicking inside the text box, pressing Backspace to clear any trailing whitespace, and typing a single standard letter to see if the send button turns active.

Wait for file uploads to complete fully

If you have attached a document, image, or code file, the send button will remain greyed out until the file is fully processed on Anthropic’s servers. A small progress bar or loading ring will show on the file thumbnail. If the upload process gets stuck, click the 'X' icon on the attachment to delete it, then try re-uploading. Ensure your files fit within the standard supported size limits and are in a compatible format.

Refresh your active browser session

Often, a minor websocket disconnect between your browser and the Claude backend causes the user interface to freeze, leaving the send button locked. To resolve this, copy your typed prompt to your clipboard so you do not lose your work, then perform a hard refresh of the webpage. On Windows, press Ctrl + F5. On macOS, press Cmd + Shift + R. Once the page reloads, paste your prompt back into the box and test the button.

Verify token and context limits

If you are working on a long chat session with multiple previous files and system messages, you might have exceeded the maximum context limit allowed for a single interaction. When this happens, Claude may disable the input box and grey out the send button to prevent over-limit submissions. Scroll up to check for any banner notifications warning you about limit thresholds. If you suspect this is the case, start a new chat thread to reset your token usage.

Disable ad blockers and script blockers

Aggressive ad-blocking extensions can prevent the vital Javascript elements that control Claude's interface buttons from loading properly. If you find that the entire page is unresponsive after refreshing, consult our guide on what to do when Claude is not responding to see how extension conflicts can lock interactive buttons on the webpage.