spawn ENOENT / command not found
A shell or tool binary was not on PATH when Claude Code tried to run it.
506 issues · 58 open · 448 resolved (89%) · first seen Feb 24, 2025
First response · integration
What to do now
Most likely: A local integration or child process did not satisfy Claude Code’s expected contract.
- Isolate the failing MCP server, shell command or editor integration.
- Run that dependency directly and capture its exit code and stderr.
- Compare with a clean configuration before editing global settings.
These are conservative triage steps, not an official Anthropic fix. Use the issue and workaround evidence below before making a destructive configuration change.
Is this getting better or worse?
This class of problem is converging. 92 new reports in the last 90 days vs 154 in the 90 before — -40%. The open backlog peaked at 58 in 2026-08 and sits at 58 today.
Derived by counting each matching issue from its creation date until it closed. First-party
computation over the anthropics/claude-code tracker — the trend is not published
anywhere upstream.
Which builds report this
254 of these reports name the Claude Code build they were running, spanning 122 releases. Heaviest reporters:
- Claude Code v2.1.51
- Claude Code v2.1.129
- Claude Code v2.1.136
- Claude Code v2.1.42
- Claude Code v2.0.76
- Claude Code v2.1.123
- Claude Code v2.1.7
- Claude Code v2.1.90
Report volume, not a defect count: an issue can mention a build without that build having caused the failure. Versions come from the version string in the bug-report template, matched against real published tags.
Do these get fixed?
Median time to close is 4 days across 448 closures. Of the 448 closures with a recorded reason, 23% were closed as completed and 344 as not-planned or duplicate. The most recent completed fix landed in 2026-08.
Workarounds reported by the community
217 of these issues post a workaround someone says worked. The highest-engagement ones:
- [FEATURE] .NET 9 or 10 SDK support in Claude Code for web runtime environment
- …environment Share a roadmap for future SDK version updates Workaround: Currently, users need to either downgrade their projects to .NET 8 or build locally/in CI/CD pipelines. Thank you! Proposed Solution install .Net la…
Found in the description of #11627 · resolved - Shell Function Inheritance Issue - Zoxide and Dynamic Functions Fail in Bash Tool
- …n Code When runs, it generates shell functions like: Failed Workarounds Attempted 1. Manual function definition : Functions defined but not accessible 2. Re-sourcing ~/.zshrc : No effect in Claude Code context 3. Direct…
Found in the description of #2407 · resolved - SSH remote connection fails on Windows — hardcoded /usr/bin/ssh path
- I've tried these commands as a workaround but got another error:
Found in the thread of #25659 · resolved - [BUG] Native Windows(Powershell) install of Claude Code is not viable
- Ran into this same issue tonight. Found workarounds that might help others: The binary does exist It's bundled inside the VS Code extension: Workaround Open a new PowerShell window and should work. Note: When the VS Code…
Found in the thread of #14902 · resolved - Bug: claude command not found after npm install -g on macOS with Homebrew due to incorrect symlink
- …JavaScript file instead of the executable launcher script. Workaround The issue can be resolved by manually replacing the incorrect symbolic link with the correct one. 1. Remove the incorrect link: 1 rm /opt/homebrew/bi…
Found in the description of #3172 · still open
Excerpts are quoted from the linked issue so you can judge relevance before opening it. Threads that only ask for a workaround, or report that there is none, are excluded. These are community suggestions, not official guidance from Anthropic — read the full thread before applying one.
Matching issues 1–100
Ranked by community engagement (reactions weighted over comments). Listing the top 300 of 506 matches; the statistics above cover all 506.
- [FEATURE] .NET 9 or 10 SDK support in Claude Code for web runtime environment
- Shell Function Inheritance Issue - Zoxide and Dynamic Functions Fail in Bash Tool
- SSH remote connection fails on Windows — hardcoded /usr/bin/ssh path
- [BUG] Native Windows(Powershell) install of Claude Code is not viable
- [BUG] The CLI reports that the Claude command is not found but still works
- Bug: claude command not found after npm install -g on macOS with Homebrew due to incorrect symlink
- [BUG] CC native on Windows: not really shell aware
- [BUG] claude crashed in terminal, and i'm getting the error `zsh: command not found: claude` when i try to reopen by running `claude`
- Agent teams should spawn in new tmux window, not split current pane
- [BUG] Claude command intermittently becomes unavailable ("command not found") with ENOTEMPTY errors preventing reinstallation on Ubuntu 24.04
- [BUG] Plugins show as "(installed)" in marketplace but don't appear in Installed tab
- No uninstall documentation for the native Claud Code build (Windows)
- typescript-lsp plugin fails on Windows: spawn ENOENT for npm global binaries
- [BUG] Windows installer reports success but fails to create claude.exe in target directory
- @anthropic-ai/claude-code SDK fails with "spawn node ENOENT" in Docker containers despite working CLI
- Windows: pyright-lsp plugin fails with ENOENT - cannot spawn .cmd files
- Invalid API key · Please run /login
- [BUG] Bash tool fails with zsh + zoxide configuration - "__zoxide_z not found" errors
- [BUG] Claude Code - LSP Tool Returns Empty Results Despite Server Responding Correctly (Windows)
- [BUG] Copied multi-line commands from Claude Code output contain formatting artifacts — still unfixed after 6+ months
- [BUG] Cowork Windows - CSP blocks a-api.anthropic.com, VM starts but API unreachable (Win 11 25H2)
- [BUG] Claude Code Desktop (Windows) - SSH claude-ssh-linux-amd64 Binary Not Found
- VS Code extension v2.1.51: commands not found (claude-vscode.editor.openLast)
- Cowork VM fails on Windows 11 Home: wrong DNS config, missing sessiondata.vhdx, no NAT
- Bash tool aborts with "temp filesystem ... is full (0MB free)" / ENOSPC when disk is NOT full (macOS)
- [BUG] Claude Code v2.1.49 crashes on Windows ARM64 with "panic: incorrect alignment" (Bun v1.3.10 bug)
- [BUG] Hooks fail with posix_spawn '/bin/sh' ENOENT due to sandbox restrictions
- [BUG] VSCode extension fails to load .zshrc file
- Bash tool returns exit code 127 on every command in 2.1.147
- [BUG] Powershell Native Install does not copy claude.exe
- [BUG] setValueForKeyFakeAssocArray showing up in almost all Bash calls in claude Code
- [BUG]Extension stuck on "Activating..." in v2.1.129 — works fine on v2.1.128
- VS Code extension v2.1.51 fails to activate on Windows: hardcoded Linux CI path in extension.js
- Hook scripts fail on Windows: backslash paths misinterpreted by Git Bash
- [BUG] `installMethod` config setting ignored when `~/.local/bin/` exists
- [Ralph Wiggum Plugin] Windows 11 Compatibility Fixes for Stop Hook
- Shell conflict with SCM Breeze causes '_safe_eval: command not found' error
- [BUG] Incorrect Installation Diagnostics for npm-global Installation
- [BUG] [Cowork] Windows: sessiondata.vhdx not created + network diagnostics uses macOS commands
- Plugin hooks cannot execute scripts on Windows - /bin/bash cannot resolve file paths
- Windows Git Bash: multiple recurring command issues (nul, python, paths, flags, eval escaping)
- [Bug] Bash commands exit with code 1 on Windows due to file descriptor incompatibility with Git Bash
- Shell Configuration Not Loaded in Claude Code Bash Execution
- [BUG] Bash tool produces no output on Windows - commands run but output files remain empty
- [Bug] Autocomplete selection defaults to /compact instead of /context match
- [BUG] claude was corrupted/removed durring an active session and unable to re-install
- Desktop app shell snapshot writes process.env.PATH instead of resolved shell PATH
- [BUG] [Bug] SSH connection fails on Windows: "Failed to spawn /usr/bin/ssh: spawn /usr/bin/ssh ENOENT"
- [BUG] native install fails with EINVAL: invalid argument, copyfile '~/.cache/claude/staging/1.0.123/claude' -> ...
- [BUG] ssh ProxyCommand not working on claude desktop code tab on windows, ProxyJump not supported on windows or Mac
- [BUG] LSP query operations return empty results on Windows despite server responding (diagnostics work)
- [BUG] Regression: command 'claude-vscode.editor.openLast' not found in v2.1.53
- [BUG] Error: Failed to spawn Claude Code process: spawn ... ENOENT
- Invalid API key · Please run /login
- [BUG] cannot run cd commands with zoxide installed
- Hooks fail with posix_spawn ENOENT when session cwd is deleted; request fallback cwd before spawning hooks
- [BUG] Error: command 'claude-vscode.editor.openLast' not found at pit.n (commandService.ts:95:26)
- [Feature Request] Support VSCode Insiders command detection and prefer code-insiders when running
- [BUG] Bug Report: Claude Code v1.0.62
- Project-Specific Slash Commands Not Loading in Claude Code 2.0.69 (macOS)
- [BUG] VSCode integrated terminal cannot detect 'code' command - IDE connection fails (Windows)
- [BUG] shopt commands run in zsh
- [BUG] Node.js error when `ps` is unavailable
- [Bug] Process exits with code 127 (command not found)
- LSP plugins fail on Windows: spawn ENOENT for npm global binaries
- Plugin hooks fail on Windows: wrong path format and CRLF line endings in shell scripts
- [Bug] Anthropic API Error: Internal Server Error (500) and Overloaded Error (529)
- VS Code extension fails to activate on Windows — hardcoded Linux CI path in extension.js
- [BUG] Native installer reports success but fails to install binary on Raspberry Pi (ARM64)
- [Bug] explanatory-output-style plugin: session-start.sh has CRLF line endings, fails on macOS/Linux
- Installation script provides incorrect PATH export command on fresh macOS
- Bash tool misleadingly executes in user's default shell instead of actual bash
- [BUG] "Fix with Claude Code" action is broken in VSCode
- [BUG] Windows: plugin-shipped MCP servers using bare `npx` fail with `spawn ENOENT` (LSP fix from #17312 missed the MCP spawn path)
- [BUG] VS Code extension v2.1.129 fails to activate on Windows — hardcoded Linux CI path regression
- [BUG] `/web-setup` slash command not found during onboarding
- Shell snapshot PATH export contains literal $PATH — system directories lost
- [Windows] LSP plugins fail with spawn ENOENT — missing shell:true for .cmd files
- Native installer deletes working npm install but fails to create ~/.local/bin/claude launcher
- Ralph Wiggum plugin: undocumented jq dependency breaks Windows/Git Bash users
- [FEATURE] Escape ! execution in slash commands
- [BUG] Bash executions freeze Claude session.
- [BUG] [Windows VS CODE] Extension fails to activate - hardcoded Linux path in v2.1.136
- [BUG] Auto-update breaks claude.exe on Windows (NVM for Windows)
- [BUG] constantly violating claude.md instructions
- [Bug] Pro user /usage command not displaying and missing from web interface
- [BUG] Shell snapshots export empty PATH on Windows (Git Bash), breaking command execution
- Symlink Required for VS Code Extension After Local Installation Migration
- /login command not found (v1.0.11)
- Bug: /btw command no longer works in VS Code
- You've hit your limit · resets 5am (Europe/Istanbul)
- [BUG] Claude Desktop App (Code tab) instantly disconnects when sending any prompt to remote VPS
- Model ignores in-context rules on first attempt, self-corrects only after failure or user intervention
- Bang (!) command doesn't load user shell functions/aliases from .zshenv
- [BUG] Shell Snapshots Don't Capture `typeset` Declarations, Breaking mise and Other Tools
- spawn pgrep ENOENT crash on macOS
- False "installMethod is native" warning when using Homebrew installation
- Hook execution fails with exit code 127 when project path contains spaces
- Shell snapshot captures base64-encoded functions from git-completion.bash, breaking all Bash commands on Windows
- Windows activation failure: createRequire invalid file URL breaks command registration in 2.1.51-2.1.53