[FEATURE]

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

• Git Bash (MSYS2) crashes with 0xC0000005 on Windows 11 24H2 build 26200
• PowerShell works fine on the same machine
• Same Git Bash setup works on Windows 10
• Request: option to use PowerShell as the command shell

Proposed Solution

Add a shell setting to allow users to choose their command shell on Windows:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
"shell": "powershell"
}

Supported values:

• "gitbash" (default, current behavior)
• "powershell" — uses pwsh.exe (PowerShell 7+) or powershell.exe (Windows PowerShell 5.1)
• "cmd" — uses cmd.exe

Implementation considerations:

1. Command translation layer — Claude Code currently generates Unix-style shell commands (forward slashes, /dev/null, && chaining, pipes). A PowerShell backend would need either:

• (A) Thin adapter: Translate a small set of known incompatibilities at command generation time (e.g., > /dev/null → | Out-Null, export VAR=val → $env:VAR = "val"). Most commands (git, npm, node, npx) work

identically in PowerShell.

• (B) Prompt-level hint: Tell the model the active shell is PowerShell so it generates compatible syntax natively. This is simpler and leverages the model's existing knowledge of PowerShell.
• Option B is likely simpler and more maintainable — the model already knows PowerShell syntax and could generate correct commands if informed of the shell type.

1. Compatibility surface — The vast majority of commands Claude Code runs are cross-shell compatible (git, npm, node, npx, cd, ls). The main gaps are:

• Redirects: > /dev/null 2>&1 → *> $null
• Environment variables: $VAR → $env:VAR
• Command chaining: && works in PowerShell 7+ but not Windows PowerShell 5.1
• Glob expansion: handled by the tool, not the shell

1. Detection/fallback — If pwsh.exe is available, prefer it (PowerShell 7+ supports &&). Fall back to powershell.exe (5.1) if not. Could also auto-detect and warn if MSYS2 crashes are recurring, suggesting

the user switch shells.

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_