[BUG] Custom slash commands not loading from .claude/commands/ directory

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?

All custom slash commands in .claude/commands/ directory are not being recognized by the CLI. When typing / in the terminal, only built-in commands appear. None of the 46 custom .md command files are loading, despite having correct YAML frontmatter with description fields.

Related to issues #14304 and #14325 but different - those are about autocomplete interference. This is about commands not loading at all.

What Should Happen?

When typing / in the CLI, all custom commands from .claude/commands/ should appear in the autocomplete menu along with built-in commands. Each command file with valid YAML frontmatter should be recognized and accessible.

Error Messages/Logs

No error messages displayed. Commands silently fail to load.

  When attempting to use a custom command directly (e.g., /spark-evolve), CLI returns:
  "Unknown slash command: spark-evolv"

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to C:\Users\Charlotte
2. Verify .claude\commands\ directory exists with .md files
3. Check any command file has frontmatter:

---
description: Command description here
---

1. Open Claude Code CLI (version 2.0.71)
2. Type / in the chat
3. Observe: Only built-in commands appear, no custom commands
4. Try typing a known custom command like /spark-evolve
5. Observe: "Unknown slash command" error

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

2.0.70

Claude Code Version

2.0.71

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

46 command files exist in .claude/commands/

• All files verified to have YAML frontmatter
• Directory structure is correct: C:\Users\Charlotte\.claude\commands\
• Frontmatter format confirmed:

---
description: Text here
---

• No cache found in %APPDATA%\.claude-code
• Commands were working previously, stopped recently (exact version unknown)
• Fresh terminal restart doesn't fix issue
• npm cache clean attempted, no change