[BUG] Claude CLI install fails with “another process is currently installing” (stale lock after uninstall)

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?

Environment:

• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• zsh
• Homebrew installed (Claude not installed via brew)
• Cursor and VS Code previously installed (now removed)
• Machine rebooted multiple times

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

Always fails with:
✘ Installation failed
Could not install - another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.

This persists after:

• full system reboot
• killing all Claude / Anthropic / Cursor processes
• removing ~/.claude
• removing ~/Library/Application Support/Claude
• removing ~/Library/Logs/Claude
• removing VS Code + Cursor + extensions
• verifying no claude binary exists in PATH
• brew uninstall / cleanup (Claude not installed via brew)

There are no running processes after reboot, yet the installer still believes another install is active.

Related issue:
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/13599

This appears to be a stuck installer lock with no documented way to reset it.

What Should Happen?

Expected:
Installer should either:

• clear stale locks on startup, or
• expose a --reset / --force-lock option

Happy to test a fix or provide logs if needed.

Error Messages/Logs

✘ Installation failed
Could not install - another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On macOS (Apple Silicon), open a fresh Terminal (zsh).
2. Ensure no claude binary exists in PATH (which claude → not found).
3. Ensure no Claude-related processes are running (including after a full system reboot).
4. Run:

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

1. Installer fails with:

“Could not install – another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.”

1. Repeat after reboot and full cleanup — error persists indefinitely.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

I uninstalled everything this morning, but it was working perfectly yesterday on Opus

Claude Code Version

Whatever the latest was yesterday. I can't get Claude installed anymore totally blocked.

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

• Worked great yesterday.
• Run in the terminal of VS code
• Repeatedly uninstalled every trace of Claude so I could reinstall without any conflicts.
• Hypothesis: The installer (https://claude.ai/install.sh) is detecting a “Claude install already running” lock, and it’s never getting cleared, so every subsequent install attempt bails out with:

“Could not install – another process is currently installing Claude…”
This is possibly “stale lock file / stale state” behavior.

Let me know if this is something I can fix on my machine or if I need to wait for help. Would like to return to a personal project quickly using Claude.