[DOCS] Windows Native Install: Missing terminal restart instructions and potential path resolution issues

Documentation Type

Unclear/confusing documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup

Section/Topic

Native Install (Recommended) -> Windows PowerShell / Windows CMD tabs.

Current Documentation

The documentation provides the following commands for Windows installation:

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Windows CMD:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

What's Wrong or Missing?

There are two primary issues with this section for Windows users:

1. Missing Terminal Restart Step: The installer adds ~/.local/bin to the user's PATH, but Windows environment variable changes do not propagate to active terminal sessions. Users who immediately try to run claude following these commands will receive a "command not found" error, leading to a frustrating first-user experience.
2. Path Resolution Risks (CMD): In the CMD string, install.cmd is executed without quotes. If a user runs this from a directory containing spaces in the path, the chain might fail depending on how the shell handles the temporary file.
3. Lack of Visibility for Troubleshooting: While the "Troubleshooting" page contains instructions on how to manually add the path, the main "Setup" page does not warn the user that a restart is required or link directly to the troubleshooting section for path errors.

Suggested Improvement

I suggest adding a specific "Step 1.5" or a prominent Note immediately following the installation command boxes.

Proposed Text Addition:

⚠️ Note for Windows Users: After the installation script finishes, you must close and reopen your terminal (PowerShell or CMD) for the claude command to be recognized. This allows Windows to refresh your PATH environment variable to include the new installation directory. If you still receive a "command not found" error after restarting, verify that %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin has been added to your User Path environment variables.

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

• The troubleshooting guide at docs/en/troubleshooting.md under "Windows: 'installMethod is native, but claude command not found'" already identifies this exact solution (Step 3: Restart your terminal). Surfacing this earlier in the setup.md file will reduce support burden and "broken" installation reports.
• Many developers using CMD on Windows might be working in folders like C:\Users\Name\Google Drive\... where spaces are common; ensuring the documentation encourages a robust execution environment is beneficial.