claude update downloads new versions but doesn't switch to them (symlink not updated)

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Feb 8, 2026 by ronmikailov Closed Feb 11, 2026

Bug Summary

The claude update command downloads newer versions to ~/.local/share/claude/versions/ but fails to update the symlink at ~/.local/bin/claude, leaving users stuck on older versions.

Environment

  • OS: WSL2 (Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2)
  • Installation method: Standalone installer (curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash)
  • Current version: 2.1.25 (stable)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code via the standalone installer
  2. Run claude update periodically over time
  3. Check ls -la ~/.local/share/claude/versions/

Observed Behavior

Multiple versions are downloaded but symlink stays on the old version:

$ ls -la ~/.local/share/claude/versions/
-rwxr-xr-x 1 user user 224472763 Feb  8 08:41 2.1.25
-rwxr-xr-x 1 user user 223098657 Feb  6 04:01 2.1.33
-rwxr-xr-x 1 user user 223101542 Feb  6 09:23 2.1.34

$ ls -la ~/.local/bin/claude
~/.local/bin/claude -> ~/.local/share/claude/versions/2.1.25

Running claude update reports "up to date" despite newer versions existing locally.

Additionally, when manually switching to a newer version (2.1.34) and then running claude update, it downgrades back to 2.1.25:

$ ln -sf ~/.local/share/claude/versions/2.1.34 ~/.local/bin/claude
$ claude --version
2.1.34 (Claude Code)

$ claude update
Current version: 2.1.34
Checking for updates to stable version...
Successfully updated from 2.1.34 to version 2.1.25  # <-- DOWNGRADE!

Expected Behavior

  1. The symlink should be updated to point to the latest downloaded version
  2. claude update should not downgrade from newer versions

Workaround

Manually update the symlink:

ln -sf ~/.local/share/claude/versions/2.1.34 ~/.local/bin/claude

Or use a wrapper script that properly handles symlink updates after the builtin update downloads new versions.

View original on GitHub ↗

This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗