[BUG] Claude infers GitHub repo owner from OS username instead of checking git remote

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?

When running gh CLI commands (e.g., gh issue list), Claude infers the GitHub repository owner from the local OS username in the working directory path (e.g., /Users/<local-username>/...) instead of checking git remote -v or gh repo view. This produces incorrect commands when the GitHub username differs from the OS username.

For example, with a repo cloned from https://github.com/<github-user>/my-repo.git but a local path of /Users/<local-username>/projects/my-repo, Claude ran:

gh issue list --repo <local-username>/my-repo

instead of:

gh issue list --repo <github-user>/my-repo

This returned no results because the repo <local-username>/my-repo doesn't exist. If someone with that OS username were to fork the repo, it would silently return the wrong data.

This happens without any compaction event — it occurred in the first interaction of a fresh session. The gitStatus context provided in the system prompt at conversation start includes the branch and recent commits but does not include the remote URL, so the model is left to guess the owner.

Workaround

I had to add the following to my CLAUDE.md memory files to prevent this:

## GitHub
- **Repo is `<github-user>/my-repo`** — do NOT infer owner from local username (`<local-username>`). Always use `git remote -v` or `gh repo view` to get the correct owner/org.

What Should Happen?

Claude should either:

1. Check git remote -v or gh repo view before constructing gh commands that require an owner/repo, or
2. The gitStatus system context should include the remote URL so the model doesn't need to guess

Error Messages/Logs

# Claude ran:
gh issue list --repo <local-username>/my-repo
# Returned 0 results (repo doesn't exist under that user)

# Correct command:
gh issue list --repo <github-user>/my-repo

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have a GitHub username that differs from your local OS username
2. Clone a repo: git clone https://github.com/<github-user>/my-repo.git
3. Start a Claude Code session in the repo directory
4. Ask Claude to list issues or interact with the repo via gh
5. Observe that Claude uses the OS username as the repo owner

Claude Model

Opus (claude-opus-4-6)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Latest (February 2026)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Related but distinct from #10960 and #15169, which are about losing repo context after compaction. This bug occurs in fresh sessions with no compaction.