[BUG] @ file mention fails to find .py files in VSCode/Cursor extension when system rg binary is not installed

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?

In the Claude Code VSCode/Cursor extension, typing @ to mention files does not return any .py files in the autocomplete dropdown. Other file types (e.g. .html) appear normally. The issue affects all projects.

The same @ file mention works correctly when running claude in the terminal.

What Should Happen?

All file types including .py should appear in the @ file autocomplete dropdown, consistent with the terminal behavior.

Error Messages/Logs

The following warning appears internally (visible if extension logging is enabled):

  Ripgrep search failed, falling back to VSCode findFiles: [Error: spawn rg ENOENT]

  Root cause traced through extension.js:

  // __dirname is hardcoded to the CI build path at compile time:
  var __dirname = "/home/runner/work/claude-cli-internal/.../packages/claude-vscode/src/extension"

  // Built-in rg path resolves to a non-existent path on user machines:
  // → /home/runner/work/claude-cli-internal/vendor/ripgrep/arm64-darwin/rg

  Because both the system rg (only a shell alias set by Claude Code's own shell integration, invisible to Node.js child processes) and the built-in ripgrep path (hardcoded CI path) fail, the extension falls back to VSCode findFiles API with a 100-result limit. Projects with a .venv/ virtual environment contain 10,000+
   .py files that exhaust this limit, pushing out all project Python files.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use Claude Code extension in VSCode or Cursor
2. Do not have ripgrep installed system-wide (only Claude Code's CLI installed)
3. Open any Python project that has a .venv/ or venv/ virtual environment
4. In the Claude Code chat input, type @ followed by any .py filename (e.g. @main)
5. Observe: no .py files appear in the dropdown

Workaround: brew install ripgrep (macOS) installs a real rg binary that the extension's Node.js process can find, bypassing the broken fallback.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

N/A — worked after installing system ripgrep (brew install ripgrep).

Claude Code Version

2.1.63 (Cursor extension: anthropic.claude-code-2.1.63-darwin-arm64)

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Suggested Fix

Resolve the built-in ripgrep path using the actual runtime extension directory instead of the hardcoded compile-time __dirname:

// Replace hardcoded __dirname with runtime extension path
const rgPath = path.resolve(context.extensionPath, "vendor", "ripgrep",
${process.arch}-${process.platform}, "rg");