Task tool subagents use stale ripgrep path after native installer migration

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jan 25, 2026 by katruje Closed Jan 29, 2026

Description

After migrating Claude Code from npm/node installation to the native installer, the Task tool's subagent spawn mechanism still references the old node-based ripgrep path, causing Glob/Grep operations to fail in subagents.

Environment

  • OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0, arm64)
  • Claude Code: Native installer (migrated from npm)
  • Node: v22.19.0 (via nvm, previously used for Claude Code)
  • System ripgrep: /opt/homebrew/bin/rg v15.1.0

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code via native installer (after previously having npm version)
  2. Use the Task tool to spawn a subagent (e.g., architect, Explore)
  3. Subagent attempts to use Glob or Grep tool

Expected Behavior

Subagent should use system ripgrep (/opt/homebrew/bin/rg) or the native installer's bundled ripgrep.

Actual Behavior

Subagent fails with:

Error: spawn /Users/<user>/.nvm/versions/node/v22.19.0/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/vendor/ripgrep/arm64-darwin/rg ENOENT

The path references the old npm installation location which no longer exists.

Screenshots

Tool calls from subagent session:

Search(pattern: ".dev/sessions/agent-hub-sprint-1/spans/*.md", path: "/Users/.../ai-dev-team")
Error: spawn /Users/.../.nvm/versions/node/v22.19.0/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/vendor/ripgrep/arm64-darwin/rg ENOENT

Investigation

  • Confirmed system ripgrep available: /opt/homebrew/bin/rg (v15.1.0)
  • Main Claude session works fine (Glob/Grep succeed)
  • Only subagents spawned via Task tool fail
  • No user-configurable path override in ~/.claude/settings.json
  • Env vars present: CLAUDE_CODE_ENTRYPOINT=cli, CLAUDECODE=1

Workaround

Subagents can use:

  • Read tool with explicit file paths
  • Bash with find or ls commands (if agent has Bash access)
  • Avoid Glob/Grep patterns

Impact

  • Medium severity - work completes but with friction
  • Subagents fail silently or fall back to less efficient methods
  • Affects multi-agent workflows using Task tool

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