[BUG] /doctor recommends adding ~/.local/bin to PATH even though actual binary is managed by Homebrew

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Due to a recent change on the recommended install method (<https://x.com/claudeai/status/1984304957353243061>), Mac users are recommended installing Claude Code using Homebrew: brew install --cask claude-code. This is documented at <https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/quickstart> and <https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview#homebrew>.

When installing Claude Code by this way, Homebrew runs the native installer, which creates ~/.local/bin/claude, and then Homebrew creates $(brew --prefix)/bin/claude which points to the current version of Claude, such as $(brew --prefix)/Caskroom/claude-code/2.0.31/claude.

With this setup, Homebrew recommends stopping auto-updater: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/c2bd3932a3243252fc3f28d608c73d9624a1e5c9/Casks/c/claude-code.rb#L35-L41

Claude Code's auto-updater installs updates to ~/.local/bin/claude and not to Homebrew's location. It is recommended to disable the auto-updater with either DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1 or claude config set autoUpdates false and use brew upgrade --cask claude-code.

However, even if I disabled the auto-updater, Claude Code says that it's problem that I don't have ~/.local/bin in my PATH. Since I've installed Claude Code via Homebrew and I manage its version via Homebrew, my assumption is that the ~/.local/bin doesn't have to be included in PATH.

For instance, Claude Code's /doctor says:

Warning: Native installation exists but ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH
Fix: Run: echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc then open a new terminal or run: source ~/.zshrc

What Should Happen?

When setting DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1, Claude Code should ignore existence of ~/.local/bin in PATH.

Error Messages/Logs

Warning: Native installation exists but ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH
Fix: Run: echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc then open a new terminal or run: source ~/.zshrc

Steps to Reproduce

1. brew install --cask claude-code
2. DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1 claude
3. /doctor

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.0.31 (Claude Code)

Platform

AWS Bedrock

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_