[BUG] Claude Code (Homebrew cask) silently removed during unrelated `brew install --cask`

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?

No explicit brew cleanup or brew uninstall was run. The removal happened silently during another cask installation, without any warning.

After the incident:

• which claude returned nothing
• /usr/local/Caskroom/claude-code/ was empty
• Had to reinstall manually with brew install --cask claude-code

What Should Happen?

Installing unrelated Homebrew casks should NOT affect existing Claude Code installation.

Expected:

• Claude Code should remain installed when other casks are installed
• If removal is necessary, user should receive a warning
• Homebrew auto-cleanup should not silently remove actively used applications

Error Messages/Logs

No explicit error was shown. The removal was silent.

  Evidence from filesystem:
  - Original install: Unknown exact time
  - Cask installations: Jan 13, 16:24-16:25
  - Claude Code missing: Discovered ~16:30
  - Reinstall timestamp: Jan 13, 23:06

 Homebrew cache .cleaned file was dated Jan 9, not today.
 Homebrew does not keep detailed removal logs.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have Claude Code installed via brew install --cask claude-code
2. Run brew install --cask iterm2 (or other cask)
3. Run brew install --cask font-fira-code (optional, I ran multiple)
4. Claude Code gets removed without warning
5. which claude returns nothing

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Unknown - was working before iterm2 installation

Claude Code Version

2.1.6

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

• This happened during an active Claude Code session (ironic!)
• Homebrew logs were not available to confirm exact deletion cause
• The .cleaned file in Homebrew cache was dated Jan 9, not today
• Workaround: export HOMEBREW_NO_INSTALL_CLEANUP=1 in ~/.zshrc

System details:

• macOS: 15.7.3 (Darwin 24.6.0)
• Homebrew: 5.0.10
• Chip: Intel