### Preflight Checklist - [x] I have searched [existing issues](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3Abug) 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 environment information passed to the model at conversation start contains an incorrect username in the working directory path. Observed behavior:

[BUG] Working directory path in model context contains mispelling/typo/corruption of username

Status Closed — not planned

Reported on v2.1.6

Maintainer reply None cached

Activity 12 comments · opened Jan 13, 2026 · closed May 30, 2026

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 environment information passed to the model at conversation start contains an incorrect username in the working directory path.

Observed behavior:

Model receives: Working directory: /Users/jdprueet/Desktop/...
Actual path: /Users/jdpruett/Desktop/...

Note the missing 't' in the username ("jdprueet" vs "jdpruett").

Verification:
All shell commands return the correct username:
$ pwd
/Users/jdpruett/Desktop/

$ echo $HOME
/Users/jdpruett

$ whoami
jdpruett

Impact:
The model uses this incorrect path when constructing absolute file paths, causing "file not found" or "no such directory" errors when using tools like Read or Write with absolute paths.

Environment:

macOS (Darwin 25.1.0)
Claude Code CLI

What Should Happen?

Claude should be fed the correct user directory without misspellings.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Start a new Claude Code conversation in any directory:

cd /Users/jdpruett/Desktop/some-project
claude

Ask Claude to read a file using an absolute path, or ask it to report what working directory it sees:

What is my current working directory according to your context?

Observe that the model reports an incorrect path with a typo in the username:

Expected: /Users/jdpruett/Desktop/some-project
Actual: /Users/jdprueet/Desktop/some-project (missing 't')

Alternatively, ask Claude to use the Read tool with an absolute path - it will fail with "file not found" because it constructs the path using the incorrect username from its context.

Note: I'm not sure if this is reproducible for all users or specific to certain usernames/system configurations. The corruption appears to happen when the working directory is captured and passed to the model context at conversation start.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.6

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_

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11 Comments

rcorre · 6 months ago

Same on 2.1.37 (Claude Code) on Linux. There's also a discussion at https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/10580 which was auto-closed but still relevant.

Using CLAUDE.md to prevent this behavior has so far been ineffective:

❯ You just used an absolute path and misspelled my home directory. CLAUDE.md guides against this. I also have a hook that's supposed to prevent this, but it seemed it didn't work. Why?
                                                                                                                                                                                               
● You're absolutely right, I apologize. I violated the CLAUDE.md instruction by using an absolute path (and misspelled it as rconte instead of rconte).

To me, the bigger problem is the use of absolute paths for Read/Write/Bash operations. Claude should use relative paths when working within the project (and it sometimes does, it's very inconsistent)

jdpru · 5 months ago

any update on this?

joaocanaverde-blue · 5 months ago

I'm also experiencing this issue. It should use relative paths, but resorts to using absolute paths and then misspells my username. It should be jpcanaverde but it uses jpcanavrede.

JAWS-tm · 5 months ago

Same issue here. It sometimes uses absolute paths and misspells my username, replacing jules with julius leading to _Read_ action errors

troykelly · 5 months ago

For visibility, the chain of automated duplicate closures points https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/31984 here. I'm not sure they are the same issue, given .claire is being experienced by multiple users, it seems Claude sometimes thinks it is Claire.

pataar · 5 months ago

Same here, even CLAUDE.md restrictions on the path usage do not help

JunganSe · 4 months ago

I'm experiencing similar issues.

I don't keep my repos in the user directory, but on another drive. Claude code frequently gets the first directory of the path wrong.
The correct path is E:/Utveckling/Repos/...
"Utveckling" is the swedish word for "Development". Claude code tends to translate this word into random languages, which of course results in read errors since the made up path does not exist.

What I've seen so far:

E:/Entwickling/Repos/ (Misspelled german. This one is the most common.)
E:/Entwickung/Repos/ (Also misspelled german.)
E:/Udvikling/Repos/ (Danish)
E:/Världsutveckling/Repos/ (Another swedish word, meaning "world development" which has a completely different meaning.)
E:/Développing/Repos (French)

justustheis · 4 months ago

Is there still no suction for this? Currently Claude Code is pretty useless to me. it doesn't get anything done due to this error. Also I experience the exact same issue with Opus 4.6

jdpru · 4 months ago

the solution...is codex.

arlaneenalra · 4 months ago

I've noticed a very similar issue that has persisted across several versions of claude code now. If the name jules appears anywhere in the path, subagents change it to julius over and over again and ignore instructions to the contrary. It's driving me a bit nuts...

github-actions[bot] · 3 months ago

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

Showing cached comments. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗