[BUG] Status line feature has external dependencies (jq, bc) and no working default

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?

The built-in status line (model name, token usage, version) was removed and replaced with a user-configurable hook system that requires writing a shell script. The /statusline command generates scripts that depend on jq and bc, neither of which are installed by default on Windows (Git Bash) or many minimal Linux environments.

Claude Code should not have dependencies outside Claude Code.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude Code on Windows
2. Notice the status line that used to show model/tokens/version is gone
3. Run /statusline to configure it
4. The generated script fails silently because jq is not installed
5. Status line shows nothing, or falls back to "Claude Code"
6. User must debug the script, discover the missing dependency, and rewrite it using python or pure bash

What Should Happen?

The old status line (model, token usage, version) should work out of the box with zero configuration

If the feature is customizable, the default/generated scripts should use only tools guaranteed to be available (bash built-ins, python which ships with most systems, or ideally no external tools at all)

Status line script should never silently fail to "Claude Code" with no indication of what went wrong

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. No status line by default
2. /statusline generates scripts depending on jq (not installed)
3. Fallback math uses bc (not installed on Windows Git Bash)
4. User goes through 3-4 rounds of debugging a shell script just to PARITALLY restore a feature that previously worked; still stuck on left justified and not as roubst as previous status line.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.62

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

<img width="1708" height="891" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3fa724d3-f5e1-4603-aafa-cd361f01f633" />