RTL (Right-to-Left) text support in VSCode extension and terminal

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?

Problem

Arabic (and other RTL languages) text appears reversed/flipped in the Claude Code
chat interface — both in the VSCode extension and the terminal.

This affects:

• Claude's responses in RTL languages
• User input in RTL languages
• Both VSCode extension and terminal interfaces

Expected Behavior

RTL text should render correctly (right-to-left) in the chat interface,
similar to how it works on claude.ai in the browser.

Impact

Users who communicate in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, and other RTL languages
cannot use Claude Code effectively. They are forced to either:

• Use English only
• Switch to claude.ai (which lacks direct file/GitHub integration)
• Use Franco-Arabic transliteration as a workaround

Environment

• VSCode extension
• macOS

What Should Happen?

Problem

Arabic (and other RTL languages) text appears reversed/flipped in the Claude Code
chat interface — both in the VSCode extension and the terminal.

This affects:

• Claude's responses in RTL languages
• User input in RTL languages
• Both VSCode extension and terminal interfaces

Expected Behavior

RTL text should render correctly (right-to-left) in the chat interface,
similar to how it works on claude.ai in the browser.

Impact

Users who communicate in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, and other RTL languages
cannot use Claude Code effectively. They are forced to either:

• Use English only
• Switch to claude.ai (which lacks direct file/GitHub integration)
• Use Franco-Arabic transliteration as a workaround

Environment

• VSCode extension
• macOS

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Problem

Arabic (and other RTL languages) text appears reversed/flipped in the Claude Code
chat interface — both in the VSCode extension and the terminal.

This affects:

• Claude's responses in RTL languages
• User input in RTL languages
• Both VSCode extension and terminal interfaces

Expected Behavior

RTL text should render correctly (right-to-left) in the chat interface,
similar to how it works on claude.ai in the browser.

Impact

Users who communicate in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, and other RTL languages
cannot use Claude Code effectively. They are forced to either:

• Use English only
• Switch to claude.ai (which lacks direct file/GitHub integration)
• Use Franco-Arabic transliteration as a workaround

Environment

• VSCode extension
• macOS

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

4.5

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Problem

Arabic (and other RTL languages) text appears reversed/flipped in the Claude Code
chat interface — both in the VSCode extension and the terminal.

This affects:

• Claude's responses in RTL languages
• User input in RTL languages
• Both VSCode extension and terminal interfaces

Expected Behavior

RTL text should render correctly (right-to-left) in the chat interface,
similar to how it works on claude.ai in the browser.

Impact

Users who communicate in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, and other RTL languages
cannot use Claude Code effectively. They are forced to either:

• Use English only
• Switch to claude.ai (which lacks direct file/GitHub integration)
• Use Franco-Arabic transliteration as a workaround

Environment

• VSCode extension
• macOS