Troubleshoot installation and login

If installation fails or you can’t sign in, find your error below. For runtime issues after Claude Code is working, see Troubleshooting. For configuration problems such as settings not applying or hooks not firing, see Debug your configuration.

Find your error

Match the error message or symptom you’re seeing to a fix:

What you see	Solution
`command not found: claude` or `'claude' is not recognized`	Fix your PATH
`syntax error near unexpected token '<'`	Install script returns HTML
`curl: (22) The requested URL returned error: 403`	Install script returned 403
`curl: (23)` or `curl: (56) Failure writing output to destination`	Check connectivity or use an alternative installer
`Killed` during install on Linux, or `Installation was killed before it could finish (exit code 137)`	Free memory or add swap space
`TLS connect error` or `SSL/TLS secure channel`	Update CA certificates
`Failed to fetch version` or can’t reach download server	Check network and proxy settings
`irm is not recognized` or `&& is not valid`	Use the right command for your shell
`Cask 'claude-code' is unavailable: No Cask with this name exists`	Update Homebrew
`'bash' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet`	Use the Windows installer command
`A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'fsSL'`	Use the Windows installer command
`Claude Code on Windows requires either Git for Windows (for bash) or PowerShell`	Install a shell
`Claude Code does not support 32-bit Windows`	Open Windows PowerShell, not the x86 entry
`The process cannot access the file ... because it is being used by another process`	Clear the downloads folder and retry
`Error loading shared library`	Wrong binary variant for your system
`Illegal instruction`	Architecture or CPU instruction set mismatch
`cannot execute binary file: Exec format error` in WSL	WSL1 native-binary regression
PowerShell installer completes but `claude` is not found or shows an old version	Add the install directory to your PATH, then open a new terminal
`dyld: Symbol not found`, `dyld: cannot load`, or `Abort trap` on macOS	Binary incompatibility
`claude update` hangs after `Checking for updates`, or `claude doctor` hangs with no output	Move the directory at a shell config path
`Invoke-Expression` or `iex` parse errors quoting HTML tags or CSS, or `ParserError` with `ParseException`	Install script returns HTML
`running scripts is disabled on this system` or `PSSecurityException`	Allow the npm shims to run
`Error: claude native binary not installed`	Complete the npm install
`npm error code ENOTEMPTY` during update or reinstall	Remove the leftover package directory
On Windows, the install command prints script text and nothing installs	Run the complete install command
`App unavailable in region`	Claude Code is not available in your country. See supported countries.
`unable to get local issuer certificate`	Configure corporate CA certificates
`OAuth error` or `403 Forbidden`	Fix authentication
`Unable to connect to Anthropic services` during setup	See Unable to connect to Anthropic services in the Error reference
`Could not load the default credentials` or `Could not load credentials from any providers`	Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry credentials
`ChainedTokenCredential authentication failed` or `CredentialUnavailableError`	Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry credentials
`API Error: 500`, `529 Overloaded`, `429`, or other 4xx and 5xx errors not listed above	See the Error reference

If your issue isn’t listed, work through the diagnostic checks below to narrow down the cause.

If you’d rather skip the terminal entirely, the Claude Code Desktop app lets you install and use Claude Code through a graphical interface. Download it for macOS or Windows and start coding without any command-line setup. On Linux, install the app with apt by following the Linux install instructions.

Run diagnostic checks

Check network connectivity

The installer downloads from downloads.claude.ai. Verify you can reach it:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

curl -sI https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/latest

curl.exe -sI https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/latest

PowerShell aliases curl to Invoke-WebRequest, which rejects the -sI flags, so call curl.exe explicitly.

You reached the server if the first line shows a 200 status. You see HTTP/2 200 on macOS and Linux, and HTTP/1.1 200 OK from the curl.exe included with Windows. Other results point to the cause:

403: usually a proxy or network filter blocking the host, or Claude Code is not available in your region
5xx: usually a temporary service issue; wait a few minutes and retry

If you see no output, Could not resolve host, or a connection timeout, your network is blocking the connection. Common causes:

Corporate firewalls or proxies blocking downloads.claude.ai
Regional network restrictions: try a VPN or alternative network
TLS/SSL issues: update your system’s CA certificates, or check if HTTPS_PROXY is configured

If you’re behind a corporate proxy, set HTTPS_PROXY and HTTP_PROXY to your proxy’s address before installing. Ask your IT team for the proxy URL if you don’t know it, or check your browser’s proxy settings. This example sets both proxy variables, then runs the installer through your proxy:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

$env:HTTP_PROXY = 'http://proxy.example.com:8080'
$env:HTTPS_PROXY = 'http://proxy.example.com:8080'
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify your PATH

If installation succeeded but you get a command not found or not recognized error when running claude, the install directory isn’t in your PATH. Your shell searches for programs in directories listed in PATH, and the installer places claude at ~/.local/bin/claude on macOS/Linux or %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe on Windows.

The VS Code extension does not place claude at this location. It bundles a private copy of the CLI inside the extension directory for its own chat panel and does not add it to PATH. If you have only installed the extension, ~/.local/bin/claude will not exist. Run the standalone install to use claude from a terminal, then continue below.

Check if the install directory is in your PATH by listing your PATH entries and filtering for local/bin:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell
Windows CMD

echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n' | grep -Fx "$HOME/.local/bin"

If this prints /Users/you/.local/bin or /home/you/.local/bin, the directory is in your PATH and you can skip to Check for conflicting installations. If there’s no output, add it to your shell configuration.For Zsh, the default on macOS:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

For Bash, the default on most Linux distributions:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Alternatively, close and reopen your terminal.For other shells such as fish or Nushell, add ~/.local/bin to your PATH using your shell’s own configuration syntax, then restart your terminal.Verify the fix worked:

claude --version

$env:PATH -split ';' | Select-String '\.local\\bin'

If there’s no output, add the install directory to your User PATH:

$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "$currentPath;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", 'User')

Restart your terminal for the change to take effect.Verify the fix worked:

claude --version

echo %PATH% | findstr /i "local\bin"

If there’s no output, open System Settings, go to Environment Variables, and add %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin to your User PATH variable. Restart your terminal.Verify the fix worked:

claude --version

Check for conflicting installations

Multiple Claude Code installations can cause version mismatches or unexpected behavior. Check what’s installed:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

List all claude binaries found in your PATH:

which -a claude

If this prints nothing, no claude is on your PATH yet. Go back to Verify your PATH.Check the three locations a claude binary can come from. ~/.local/bin/claude is the native installer, ~/.claude/local/ is a legacy local npm install created by older versions of Claude Code, and the npm global list shows a -g install:

ls -la ~/.local/bin/claude

A native install shows a symlink into ~/.local/share/claude/versions/. A script or a symlink you created yourself at this path is a custom launcher, which auto-update leaves in place.If either ls command prints No such file or directory, that’s not an error. It means nothing is installed at that location, so move on to the next check.

ls -la ~/.claude/local/

npm -g ls @anthropic-ai/claude-code 2>/dev/null

List all claude binaries found in your PATH:

where.exe claude

Check whether the native installer placed a binary:

Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

If you find multiple installations, keep only one. The native install at ~/.local/bin/claude on macOS/Linux or %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe on Windows is recommended. Remove the extras: Uninstall an npm global install:

npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Remove the legacy local npm install:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

rm -rf ~/.claude/local

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\local"

Remove a Homebrew install on macOS. If you installed the claude-code@latest cask, substitute that name:

brew uninstall --cask claude-code

Remove a WinGet install on Windows:

winget uninstall Anthropic.ClaudeCode

Check directory permissions

The installer needs write access to ~/.local/bin/ and ~/.claude/ on macOS and Linux. On Windows the install location is under %USERPROFILE%, which is writable by your user by default, so this section rarely applies there. Check whether the directories are writable:

test -w ~/.local/bin && echo "writable" || echo "not writable"
test -w ~/.claude && echo "writable" || echo "not writable"

If either directory isn’t writable, create the install directory and set your user as the owner:

sudo mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.local

Verify the binary works

If claude --version prints a version but claude crashes or hangs on startup, run these checks to narrow down the cause. If claude --version says command not found, go to Verify your PATH first; the commands below assume claude is on your PATH. Confirm the binary exists and is executable:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

ls -la "$(command -v claude)"

Get-Command claude | Select-Object Source

On Linux, check for missing shared libraries. If ldd shows missing libraries, you may need to install system packages. On Alpine Linux and other musl-based distributions, see Alpine Linux setup.

ldd "$(command -v claude)" | grep "not found"

Confirm the binary can execute:

claude --version

Common installation issues

These are the most frequently encountered installation problems and their solutions.

Install script returns HTML instead of a shell script

When running the install command, you may see one of these errors:

bash: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `<'
bash: line 1: `<!DOCTYPE html>'

On PowerShell, the same problem appears as parse errors pointing into the returned page, with iex trying to run HTML and CSS as PowerShell:

iex : At line:1 char:2310
+ ... igin="anonymous"/><script type="text/javascript">!function(o,c){var n ...
Missing argument in parameter list.
...

The wording varies with the PowerShell version and system language: you may see Missing expression after unary operator '--' or a ParserError with ParseException instead. HTML tags or CSS in the quoted text identify this failure. If you download with -OutFile install.ps1 instead, the saved file is the same web page, so that doesn’t help either. Depending on how the request was routed, you may instead see a 403 with no HTML body:

curl: (22) The requested URL returned error: 403

These all mean the install URL returned an HTML page or an error status instead of the install script. If the HTML page says “App unavailable in region,” Claude Code is not available in your country. See supported countries. A bare 403 with no body often has the same cause, but it can also come from a corporate proxy or firewall blocking the download. If you are in a supported country and still see the 403, work through Check network connectivity before trying the alternative installers below, since those reach the same hosts. Otherwise, this can happen due to network issues, regional routing, or a temporary service disruption. Solutions:

Use an alternative install method: On macOS, install via Homebrew:
brew install --cask claude-code
On Windows, install via WinGet:
winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode
Then run claude --version to confirm: the command prints a version number such as 2.1.211 (Claude Code). If the shell reports claude isn’t found, open a new terminal window and retry: the session you installed from keeps its old PATH.
Retry after a few minutes: the issue is often temporary. Wait and try the original command again.

`command not found: claude` after installation

The install finished but claude doesn’t work. The exact error varies by platform:

Platform	Error message
macOS	`zsh: command not found: claude`
Linux	`bash: claude: command not found`
Windows CMD	`'claude' is not recognized as an internal or external command`
PowerShell	`claude : The term 'claude' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet`

This means the install directory isn’t in your shell’s search path. See Verify your PATH for the fix on each platform.

`curl: (56) Failure writing output to destination`

The curl ... | bash command downloads the script and pipes it to Bash for execution. This error, and the related curl: (23) Failure writing output to destination, means Bash did not receive the complete script. Exit code 56 indicates the download itself was interrupted, and exit code 23 indicates curl could not write what it received to the pipe, usually because Bash exited early. Solutions:

Check network stability: Claude Code binaries are hosted at downloads.claude.ai. Test that you can reach it:
curl -sI https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/latest
An HTTP/2 200 line means you reached the server and the original failure was likely intermittent; retry the install command. Other results point to the cause:
- 403: usually a proxy or network filter blocking the host, or Claude Code is not available in your region
- 5xx: usually a temporary service issue; wait a few minutes and retry
- Could not resolve host or a connection timeout: your network is blocking the download
Try an alternative install method: On macOS:
brew install --cask claude-code
On Windows:
winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode
Then run claude --version to confirm: the command prints a version number such as 2.1.211 (Claude Code). If the shell reports claude isn’t found, open a new terminal window and retry: the session you installed from keeps its old PATH.

Homebrew cask unavailable or outdated

Homebrew reports Error: Cask 'claude-code' is unavailable: No Cask with this name exists when your local copy of the Homebrew cask index predates the cask’s publication. Refresh the index and retry:

brew update
brew install --cask claude-code

If Homebrew installs an older Claude Code version than you expect, the same stale index is usually the cause. The claude-code cask tracks the stable channel and is typically about one week behind the latest release; for the newest version run brew install --cask claude-code@latest instead. See Configure release channel for the difference between the two casks.

TLS or SSL connection errors

Errors like curl: (35) TLS connect error, schannel: next InitializeSecurityContext failed, or PowerShell’s Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel indicate TLS handshake failures. Solutions:

Update your system CA certificates: On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ca-certificates
On macOS, the system curl uses the Keychain trust store; updating macOS itself updates the root certificates.

On Windows, enable TLS 1.2 in PowerShell before running the installer:

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Check for proxy or firewall interference: corporate proxies that perform TLS inspection can cause these errors, including unable to get local issuer certificate and SELF_SIGNED_CERT_IN_CHAIN. For the install step, make the install download trust your corporate proxy’s CA:
- macOS/Linux
- Windows PowerShell
curl --cacert /path/to/corporate-ca.pem -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
The PowerShell installer downloads through .NET, which validates TLS against the Windows certificate store. Ask your IT team to add the proxy’s CA certificate to the Windows store if it isn’t already there, then run the installer:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
For Claude Code itself once installed, set NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS so API requests trust the same bundle:
- macOS/Linux
- Windows PowerShell
export NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=/path/to/corporate-ca.pem
$env:NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS = 'C:\path\to\corporate-ca.pem'
Ask your IT team for the certificate file if you don’t have it. You can also try on a direct connection to confirm the proxy is the cause.
On Windows, work around blocked revocation checks. The errors CRYPT_E_NO_REVOCATION_CHECK (0x80092012) and CRYPT_E_REVOCATION_OFFLINE (0x80092013) mean curl reached the server but your network blocks the certificate revocation lookup, which is common behind corporate firewalls. If the failing command is the curl that downloads install.cmd, rerun it from a Command Prompt with --ssl-revoke-best-effort added:
curl --ssl-revoke-best-effort -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd
When the script’s own downloads hit the same errors, it retries them with best-effort revocation checking automatically, so the flag is only needed on the command you run yourself. Best-effort checking tolerates an unreachable revocation server but still rejects a certificate that is known to be revoked, matching how browsers handle revocation. You can also avoid curl’s revocation check entirely by running the PowerShell installer from PowerShell, which downloads through .NET and doesn’t fail when the revocation server is unreachable:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
You can also install with winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode, which avoids curl entirely.

`Failed to fetch version from downloads.claude.ai`

The installer couldn’t reach the download server. This typically means downloads.claude.ai is blocked on your network. See Check network connectivity.

Wrong install command on Windows

If you see 'irm' is not recognized, The token '&&' is not valid, A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'fsSL', or 'bash' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, you copied the install command for a different shell or operating system. If the command prints the script’s text instead of installing anything, you ran only part of it.

irm not recognized: you’re in CMD, not PowerShell. You have two options: Open PowerShell by searching for “PowerShell” in the Start menu, then run the original install command:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Or stay in CMD and use the CMD installer instead:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd
&& not valid: you’re in PowerShell but ran the CMD installer command. Use the PowerShell installer:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'fsSL': you ran the macOS/Linux curl -fsSL ... | bash installer in Windows PowerShell, where curl is an alias for Invoke-WebRequest and rejects the -fsSL flags. Use the PowerShell installer instead:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
bash not recognized: you ran the macOS/Linux installer on Windows. Use the PowerShell installer instead:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
The command prints script text instead of installing: you ran the download half of the command without the part that executes it. irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 on its own prints the downloaded script to the terminal. Pipe it to iex to run it:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
In CMD, curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd without -o prints the batch script instead of saving it. Run the complete command:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

Whichever installer you use, confirm it worked: open a new terminal and run claude --version, which prints a version number such as 2.1.211 (Claude Code).

`running scripts is disabled on this system`

Installing or running Claude Code through npm on Windows can fail with a SecurityError:

npm : File C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system. For more information, see about_Execution_Policies at https:/go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170.
...
    + CategoryInfo          : SecurityError: (:) [], PSSecurityException

The same error names claude.ps1 when you run claude after an npm install. PowerShell’s execution policy is blocking the .ps1 launcher scripts that npm creates for its commands. The policy applies to script files, so it doesn’t affect the PowerShell installer irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex, which runs the downloaded text directly. Solutions:

Allow locally created scripts for your user, then retry:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Call the .cmd launcher instead: npm.cmd and claude.cmd do the same job, and the policy doesn’t cover them.
Use the PowerShell installer instead of npm. It installs a binary rather than a .ps1 script.

`The process cannot access the file` during Windows install

If the PowerShell installer fails with Failed to download binary: The process cannot access the file ... because it is being used by another process, the installer couldn’t write to %USERPROFILE%\.claude\downloads. This usually means a previous install attempt is still running, or antivirus software is scanning a partially downloaded binary in that folder. Close any other PowerShell windows running the installer and wait for antivirus scans to release the file. Then delete the downloads folder and run the installer again:

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\downloads"
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Install killed on low-memory Linux servers

A Killed message during install usually means the Linux out-of-memory (OOM) killer terminated the claude install step because the system ran out of free memory. This is common on small VPS and cloud instances. The install script reports the cause and exits with code 137. In this example, the line number and process ID vary by release and run:

Setting up Claude Code...
bash: line 183: 34803 Killed    "$binary_path" install ${TARGET:+"$TARGET"}
Installation was killed before it could finish (exit code 137). This usually means the system ran out of memory.
Claude Code needs roughly 512MB of free memory to install. Free up memory, then run this script again.

Installing needs roughly 512 MB of free memory, and running Claude Code needs more. See the system requirements. Solutions:

Add swap space if your server has limited RAM. Swap uses disk space as overflow memory, letting the install complete even with low physical RAM. Create a 2 GB swap file and enable it:
sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile sudo chmod 600 /swapfile sudo mkswap /swapfile sudo swapon /swapfile
Then retry the installation:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
Close other processes to free memory before installing.
Use a larger instance if possible. Claude Code requires at least 4 GB of RAM.

Install hangs in Docker

When installing Claude Code in a Docker container, installing as root into / can cause hangs. Solutions:

Set a working directory before running the installer. When run from /, the installer scans the entire filesystem, which causes excessive memory usage. Setting WORKDIR limits the scan to a small directory:
WORKDIR /tmp RUN curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
Give Docker more memory if using Docker Desktop. Build containers share the memory allocated to the Docker Desktop virtual machine, so open Settings > Resources in Docker Desktop, raise the memory limit, and rerun the build.

`claude update` or `claude doctor` hangs

claude update and claude doctor scan your shell configuration files for an outdated claude alias: ~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, and ~/.config/fish/config.fish, plus on macOS the first of ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bash_login, or ~/.profile that exists. If you set ZDOTDIR, the Zsh file is $ZDOTDIR/.zshrc instead. When one of those paths is a directory, Claude Code skips it and both commands complete normally. Before v2.1.214, a directory at one of those paths made both commands hang and left the System diagnostics section of /status blank. claude doctor hung with no output; claude update hung right after printing Checking for updates. If you hit the hang on an earlier version, find the directory. In this command’s output, a line starting with d marks that path as a directory. A No such file or directory line means nothing exists at that path and isn’t the cause:

ls -ld ~/.zshrc ~/.bashrc ~/.bash_profile ~/.bash_login ~/.profile ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Move the directory aside, or update to v2.1.214 or later. Since claude update hangs on the affected versions, update by rerunning the install script instead.

Claude Desktop overrides the `claude` command on Windows

If you installed an older version of Claude Desktop, it may register a Claude.exe in the WindowsApps directory that takes PATH priority over Claude Code CLI. Running claude opens the Desktop app instead of the CLI. Update Claude Desktop to the latest version to fix this issue.

Claude Code on Windows requires either Git for Windows (for bash) or PowerShell

Git for Windows is optional. Claude Code uses the PowerShell tool when Git Bash is absent, so this error means neither shell was found. If PowerShell is missing from your PATH, its default location is C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\. Add that directory to your PATH, or install PowerShell 7, which provides pwsh. To install Git for Windows instead, download it from git-scm.com/downloads/win. During setup, select “Add to PATH.” Restart your terminal after installing. Installing it enables the Bash tool, useful when working with Bash-based scripts and tooling. If Git is already installed but Claude Code can’t find it, compare its location against the places Claude Code checks. When CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH isn’t set, Claude Code looks for bash.exe in this order:

The default install locations C:\Program Files\Git and C:\Program Files (x86)\Git.
The git on your PATH, using the bin\bash.exe from that Git installation.

In step 2, Claude Code skips a git that sits in the folder you launched Claude Code from, or below it in a path that contains node_modules or a virtual-environment folder such as .venv or env, for example C:\dev\env\myproject\Git when you launched from C:\dev\env\myproject. This keeps Claude Code from running an executable that a project placed there. If your Git is in a location like that, point CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH at it. To point Claude Code at a specific Git installation, find it by running where.exe git in PowerShell, then set the bin\bash.exe path from that installation as CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH in your settings.json file:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe"
  }
}

If CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH is set to the correct path and the file exists but Claude Code still doesn’t use it, check the file’s name first. Claude Code accepts only a file named bash.exe, sh.exe, bash, or sh; with any other name, such as Git for Windows’ git-bash.exe launcher, it ignores the variable and auto-detects Git Bash as if it were unset, logging a warning visible with --debug. A path that doesn’t exist gets the same fallback and warning. Before v2.1.219, Claude Code used any existing file as the shell without checking its name, and exited at startup with Claude Code was unable to find CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH path when the path didn’t exist. If the file’s name is right, endpoint security software such as AppLocker, Group Policy software restriction policies, or EDR agents may be interfering. Ask your IT team to allowlist claude.exe and the processes it spawns, including cmd.exe and bash.exe, in your endpoint protection policy.

Claude Code does not support 32-bit Windows

Windows includes two PowerShell entries in the Start menu: Windows PowerShell and Windows PowerShell (x86). The x86 entry runs as a 32-bit process and triggers this error even on a 64-bit machine. To check which case you’re in, run this in the same window that produced the error:

[Environment]::Is64BitOperatingSystem

If this prints True, your operating system is fine. Close the window, open Windows PowerShell without the x86 suffix, and run the install command again. If this prints False, you are on a 32-bit edition of Windows. Claude Code requires a 64-bit operating system. See the system requirements.

Linux musl or glibc binary mismatch

If you see errors about missing shared libraries like libstdc++.so.6 or libgcc_s.so.1 after installation, the installer may have downloaded the wrong binary variant for your system.

Error loading shared library libstdc++.so.6: No such file or directory

This can happen on glibc-based systems that have musl cross-compilation packages installed, causing the installer to misdetect the system as musl. Solutions:

Check which libc your system uses:
ldd --version 2>&1 | head -1
Output mentioning GNU libc or GLIBC means glibc. Output mentioning musl means musl.
If you’re on glibc but got the musl binary, remove the installation and reinstall. You can also manually download the correct binary using the manifest at https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/{VERSION}/manifest.json. File a GitHub issue with the output of ldd --version and ls /lib/libc.musl*.
If you’re actually on musl, such as Alpine Linux, install the required packages:
apk add libgcc libstdc++ ripgrep
On Alpine, ripgrep is in the community repository. If apk reports that the package is missing, see Alpine Linux setup.

`Illegal instruction`

If running claude or the installer prints Illegal instruction, the native binary uses CPU instructions your processor doesn’t support. There are two distinct causes. Architecture mismatch. The installer downloaded the wrong binary, for example x86 on an ARM server. Check with uname -m on macOS or Linux, or $env:PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE in PowerShell. If the result doesn’t match the binary you received, file a GitHub issue with the output. Missing AVX instruction set. If your architecture is correct but you still see Illegal instruction, your CPU likely lacks AVX or another instruction the binary requires. This affects roughly pre-2013 Intel and AMD processors, and virtual machines where the hypervisor does not pass AVX through to the guest. On a VPS or VM, run grep -m1 -ow avx /proc/cpuinfo; an empty result means AVX is not available to the guest. There is no native-binary workaround; track issue #50384 for status, and include your CPU model from grep -m1 "model name" /proc/cpuinfo on Linux or sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string on macOS when reporting. Alternative install methods download the same native binary and won’t resolve either cause.

`dyld: cannot load` on macOS

If you see dyld: Symbol not found, dyld: cannot load, or Abort trap: 6 during installation, the binary is incompatible with your macOS version or hardware. A Symbol not found error that references libicucore means your macOS version is older than the binary supports:

dyld: Symbol not found: _ubrk_clone
  Referenced from: claude-darwin-x64 (which was built for Mac OS X 13.0)
  Expected in: /usr/lib/libicucore.A.dylib

The loader can instead reject the binary’s load commands, which also means your macOS version is too old:

dyld: cannot load 'claude-2.1.42-darwin-x64' (load command 0x80000034 is unknown)
Abort trap: 6

Solutions:

Check your macOS version: Claude Code requires macOS 13.0 or later. Open the Apple menu and select About This Mac to check your version.
Update macOS if you’re on an older version. The binary uses load commands and system libraries that older macOS versions don’t support. Alternative install methods like Homebrew download the same binary and won’t resolve this error.

`Exec format error` on WSL1

If running claude in WSL prints cannot execute binary file: Exec format error, you’re on WSL1 and hitting a known native-binary regression tracked in issue #38788. The binary’s program headers changed in a way WSL1’s loader can’t handle. The cleanest fix is to convert your distribution to WSL2 from PowerShell:

wsl --set-version <DistroName> 2

If you need to stay on WSL1, invoke the binary through the dynamic linker. Add this function to ~/.bashrc inside WSL, replacing the path if your home directory differs:

claude() {
  /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 "$(readlink -f "$HOME/.local/bin/claude")" "$@"
}

Then run source ~/.bashrc and retry claude.

npm install errors in WSL

These issues apply if you installed Claude Code with npm install -g inside WSL. If you used the native installer, skip this section. OS or platform detection issues. If npm reports a platform mismatch during install, WSL is likely picking up the Windows npm. Run npm config set os linux first, then install with npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code --force. Do not use sudo. exec: node: not found when running claude. Your WSL environment is likely using the Windows installation of Node.js. Confirm with which npm and which node: paths starting with /mnt/c/ are Windows binaries, while Linux paths start with /usr/. To fix this, install Node via your Linux distribution’s package manager or via nvm. nvm version conflicts. If you have nvm installed in both WSL and Windows, switching Node versions in WSL may break because WSL imports the Windows PATH by default and the Windows nvm takes priority. The most common cause is that nvm isn’t loaded in your shell. Add the nvm loader to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"

Or load it in your current session:

source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

If nvm is loaded but Windows paths still take priority, prepend your Linux Node path explicitly:

export PATH="$HOME/.nvm/versions/node/$(node -v)/bin:$PATH"

Avoid disabling Windows PATH importing via appendWindowsPath = false as this breaks the ability to call Windows executables from WSL. Similarly, avoid uninstalling Node.js from Windows if you use it for Windows development.

Permission errors during installation

If the native installer fails with permission errors, the target directory may not be writable. See Check directory permissions. If you previously installed with npm and are hitting npm-specific permission errors, switch to the native installer:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Native binary not found after npm install

The @anthropic-ai/claude-code npm package downloads the native binary as a per-platform optional dependency, such as @anthropic-ai/claude-code-darwin-arm64. npm then runs the package’s postinstall script, which copies that binary into place as the claude command; until it runs, claude is a placeholder script. If either the download or the postinstall step is skipped, the placeholder stays in place, and running claude on macOS and Linux prints:

Error: claude native binary not installed.

Either postinstall did not run (--ignore-scripts, some pnpm configs)
or the platform-native optional dependency was not downloaded
(--omit=optional).

Run the postinstall manually (adjust path for local vs global install):
  node node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/install.cjs

Or reinstall without --ignore-scripts / --omit=optional.

On Windows, bin/claude.exe is that same shell-script placeholder rather than a real executable, so PowerShell and CMD report that they can’t run the file instead of printing this message. Check the following causes:

Optional dependencies are disabled. Remove --omit=optional from your npm install command, --no-optional from pnpm, or --ignore-optional from yarn, and check that .npmrc does not set optional=false. Then reinstall. The native binary is delivered only as an optional dependency, so there is no JavaScript fallback if it is skipped, and running install.cjs again can’t place a binary that was never downloaded.
Install scripts are disabled. --ignore-scripts and some pnpm configurations skip the postinstall step but still download the platform package. Run node node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/install.cjs as the message suggests, or reinstall without the flag. If postinstall can’t run in your environment at all, node node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli-wrapper.cjs finds the downloaded package and launches it, at the cost of an extra Node process on each start. If the wrapper prints Could not find native binary package instead, the platform package was never downloaded, so fix the optional-dependencies cause above first.
Unsupported platform. Prebuilt binaries are published for darwin-arm64, darwin-x64, linux-x64, linux-arm64, linux-x64-musl, linux-arm64-musl, win32-x64, and win32-arm64. Claude Code does not ship a binary for other platforms; see the system requirements. On FreeBSD, the installer reports the platform as unsupported. Before v2.1.205, it treated FreeBSD as Linux and downloaded a binary that couldn’t run.
Corporate npm mirror is missing the platform packages. Ensure your registry mirrors all eight @anthropic-ai/claude-code-* platform packages in addition to the meta package.

npm `ENOTEMPTY` error during update or reinstall

When you run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code over an existing installation, npm can fail while moving the old package directory aside:

npm error code ENOTEMPTY
npm error syscall rename
npm error path /home/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.13.1/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code
npm error dest /home/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.13.1/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/.claude-code-tVWAnUUt
npm error errno -39
npm error ENOTEMPTY: directory not empty, rename '...'

The npm error path line names the directory npm couldn’t move. Delete that directory and any leftover .claude-code-* directories next to it, which earlier interrupted runs can leave behind. The commands below find your global package directory with npm root -g; if the directory the npm error path line names is not under the directory npm root -g prints, for example because you switched Node versions with nvm, delete the directories the error names instead:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

rm -rf "$(npm root -g)/@anthropic-ai/claude-code"

Then remove any leftover temp directories. If zsh prints no matches found, there were none to remove:

rm -rf "$(npm root -g)/@anthropic-ai/.claude-code-"*

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$(npm root -g)/@anthropic-ai/claude-code", "$(npm root -g)/@anthropic-ai/.claude-code-*"

Then reinstall:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Confirm with claude --version, which prints a version number such as 2.1.211 (Claude Code). These sections address login failures, OAuth errors, and token issues. When login fails and the cause isn’t obvious, a clean re-authentication resolves most cases:

Run /logout to sign out completely
Close Claude Code
Restart with claude and complete the authentication process again

If the browser doesn’t open automatically during login, press c to copy the OAuth URL to your clipboard, then paste it into a browser manually. This also works when the URL wraps across lines in a narrow or SSH terminal and can’t be clicked directly.

OAuth error: Invalid code

If you see OAuth error: Invalid code. Please make sure the full code was copied, the login code expired or was truncated during copy-paste. Solutions:

Press Enter to retry and complete the login quickly after the browser opens
Type c to copy the full URL if the browser doesn’t open automatically
If using a remote/SSH session, the browser may open on the wrong machine. Copy the URL displayed in the terminal and open it in your local browser instead.

If you see API Error: 403 {"error":{"type":"forbidden","message":"Request not allowed"}} after logging in:

Claude Pro/Max users: verify your subscription is active at claude.ai/settings
Anthropic Console users: confirm your account has the “Claude Code” or “Developer” role. Admins assign this in the Anthropic Console under Settings → Members.
Behind a proxy: corporate proxies can interfere with API requests. See network configuration for proxy setup.

This organization has been disabled with an active subscription

If you see API Error: 400 ... "This organization has been disabled" despite having an active Claude subscription, an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is overriding your subscription. This commonly happens when an old API key from a previous employer or project is still set in your shell profile. When ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is present and you have approved it, Claude Code uses that key instead of your subscription’s OAuth credentials. In non-interactive mode with the -p flag, the key is always used when present. See authentication precedence for the full resolution order. To use your subscription instead, unset the environment variable and remove it from your shell profile:

macOS/Linux
Windows PowerShell

unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
claude

Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
claude

Check ~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.profile for export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=... lines and remove them to make the change permanent. On Windows, check your PowerShell profile at $PROFILE and your User environment variables for ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. Run /status inside Claude Code to confirm which authentication method is active. When Claude Code runs in WSL2, on a remote machine over SSH, or inside a container, the browser usually opens on a different host and its redirect can’t reach Claude Code’s local callback server. After you sign in, the browser shows a login code instead of redirecting back automatically. Paste that code into the terminal at the Paste code here if prompted prompt to complete login. If the browser doesn’t open at all from WSL2, set the BROWSER environment variable to your Windows browser path:

export BROWSER="/mnt/c/Program Files/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe"
claude

Alternatively, press c at the interactive login prompt to copy the OAuth URL, or copy the URL that claude auth login prints, and open it in a browser on your local machine. If pasting the code into the interactive prompt does nothing, your terminal’s paste binding likely isn’t reaching the input field. Try your terminal’s alternate paste shortcut, often right-click or Shift+Insert in Windows Terminal, or use claude auth login instead, which reads the pasted code from standard input:

claude auth login

This fallback also applies on native Windows or any terminal where pasting into the interactive prompt fails.

Not logged in or token expired

If Claude Code prompts you to log in again after a session, your OAuth token may have expired. Run /login to re-authenticate. If this happens frequently, check that your system clock is accurate, as token validation depends on correct timestamps. Parallel sessions on one machine share a saved login and coordinate its renewal so that only one process refreshes the token at a time. Before v2.1.211, waking the machine from sleep could cause two sessions to renew with the same token, which revoked the saved login and prompted every open session to log in again at once. On macOS, login can also fail when the Keychain is locked or its password is out of sync with your account password, which prevents Claude Code from saving credentials. Run claude doctor to check Keychain access. To unlock the Keychain manually, run security unlock-keychain ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db. If unlocking doesn’t help, open Keychain Access, select the login keychain, and choose Edit > Change Password for Keychain “login” to resync it with your account password.

Bedrock, Agent Platform, or Foundry credentials not loading

If you configured Claude Code to use a cloud provider and see Could not load credentials from any providers on Amazon Bedrock, Could not load the default credentials on Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, or ChainedTokenCredential authentication failed on Microsoft Foundry, your cloud provider CLI is likely not authenticated in the current shell. For Amazon Bedrock, confirm your AWS credentials are valid:

aws sts get-caller-identity

For Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, confirm ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID and CLOUD_ML_REGION are set in your shell, then set application default credentials:

gcloud auth application-default login

For Microsoft Foundry, confirm ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY is set, or sign in with the Azure CLI so the default credential chain can find your account:

az login

If credentials work in your terminal but not in the VS Code or JetBrains extension, the IDE process likely didn’t inherit your shell environment. Set the provider environment variables in the IDE’s own settings, or launch the IDE from a terminal where they’re already exported. See Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry for full provider setup.

Still stuck

If none of the above resolves your issue:

Check the GitHub repository for known issues, or open a new one with your operating system, the install command you ran, and the full error output
If claude --version works but something else is wrong, run claude doctor for an automated diagnostic report
If you can start a session, use /feedback inside Claude Code to report the problem
If the problem is with your account rather than the install, such as a login loop, a subscription that isn’t recognized, or a disabled organization, contact Anthropic support: sign in at claude.ai (Console users: platform.claude.com), click your initials in the lower left, and select Get help. See How to get support for the full flow.

​Find your error

​Run diagnostic checks

​Check network connectivity

​Verify your PATH

​Check for conflicting installations

​Check directory permissions

​Verify the binary works

​Common installation issues

​Install script returns HTML instead of a shell script

​command not found: claude after installation

​curl: (56) Failure writing output to destination

​Homebrew cask unavailable or outdated

​TLS or SSL connection errors

​Failed to fetch version from downloads.claude.ai

​Wrong install command on Windows

​running scripts is disabled on this system

​The process cannot access the file during Windows install

​Install killed on low-memory Linux servers

​Install hangs in Docker

​claude update or claude doctor hangs

​Claude Desktop overrides the claude command on Windows

​Claude Code on Windows requires either Git for Windows (for bash) or PowerShell

​Claude Code does not support 32-bit Windows

​Linux musl or glibc binary mismatch

​Illegal instruction

​dyld: cannot load on macOS

​Exec format error on WSL1

​npm install errors in WSL

​Permission errors during installation

​Native binary not found after npm install

​npm ENOTEMPTY error during update or reinstall

​Login and authentication

​Reset your login

​OAuth error: Invalid code

​403 Forbidden after login

​This organization has been disabled with an active subscription

​OAuth login fails in WSL2, SSH, or containers

​Not logged in or token expired

​Bedrock, Agent Platform, or Foundry credentials not loading

​Still stuck

Find your error

Run diagnostic checks

Check network connectivity

Verify your PATH

Check for conflicting installations

Check directory permissions

Verify the binary works

Common installation issues

Install script returns HTML instead of a shell script

`command not found: claude` after installation

`curl: (56) Failure writing output to destination`

Homebrew cask unavailable or outdated

TLS or SSL connection errors

`Failed to fetch version from downloads.claude.ai`

Wrong install command on Windows

`running scripts is disabled on this system`

`The process cannot access the file` during Windows install

Install killed on low-memory Linux servers

Install hangs in Docker

`claude update` or `claude doctor` hangs

Claude Desktop overrides the `claude` command on Windows

Claude Code on Windows requires either Git for Windows (for bash) or PowerShell

Claude Code does not support 32-bit Windows

Linux musl or glibc binary mismatch

`Illegal instruction`

`dyld: cannot load` on macOS

`Exec format error` on WSL1

npm install errors in WSL

Permission errors during installation

Native binary not found after npm install

npm `ENOTEMPTY` error during update or reinstall

Login and authentication

Reset your login

OAuth error: Invalid code

403 Forbidden after login

This organization has been disabled with an active subscription

OAuth login fails in WSL2, SSH, or containers

Not logged in or token expired

Bedrock, Agent Platform, or Foundry credentials not loading

Still stuck