Installation config mismatch diagnostic false positive when installMethod matches

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?

The /status diagnostic shows a warning about an installation config mismatch even when the running method and config method are identical.

Warning displayed:

System Diagnostics
⚠ Installation config mismatch: running npm-global but config says npm-global

Expected behavior: No warning should appear when both values match ("npm-global" = "npm-global").

~/.claude.json installMethod value:

"installMethod": "npm-global"
Environment:

Claude Code version: 2.0.55
OS: Linux (Ubuntu)
Node.js: v22.21.1
npm: 10.9.4
Installation method: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Steps to reproduce:

Install Claude Code globally via npm
Ensure ~/.claude.json has "installMethod": "npm-global"
Run claude and check /status
Observe the false positive mismatch warning
Additional context: The warning message itself proves the bug - it states both values are "npm-global" but still flags it as a mismatch.

What Should Happen?

Breaks the CLI and tokens don't work properly when in the project folder

Error Messages/Logs

Version: 2.0.55
 Session ID: 59354f6d-fc8f-4f8b-ad6d-f9e03ca36d06
 cwd: /fast-storage/Systems_Code/AI-Agents
 Login method: Claude Max Account
Model: Default Opus 4.5 · Most capable for complex work
 Memory:
 Setting sources: User settings, Shared project settings, Local, Command line arguments, Enterprise managed policies

 System Diagnostics
  ⚠ Installation config mismatch: running npm-global but config says npm-global

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude Code globally via npm:

```bash
sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify the installation method in ~/.claude.json is set correctly:

cat ~/.claude.json | grep installMethod

Output: "installMethod": "npm-global",

Start Claude Code:

claude

Run the status command:

/status

Observe the "System Diagnostics" section shows:

⚠ Installation config mismatch: running npm-global but config says npm-global

Note that both values in the warning message are identical ("npm-global"), yet it's incorrectly flagged as a mismatch.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.0.55

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

_No response_