[BUG] inaccurate feedback during system outages

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 system does not provide accurate feedback to users during system outages.

1. a misleading error message comes out of Claude Code console: "OAuth token expired, please /login" implies the problem is specific to the user when it's actually a backend outage. A user-side error message for a server-side problem sends people on a wild goose chase.
2. A broken partial auth state — completing a login flow only to land in a session that shows the wrong subscription tier is worse than a clean failure--it erodes trust in a way that a simple "service unavailable" screen never would.

If system engineers are having a hard time figuring out how to achieve the goal of good user experience despite intermittent failures (a classic UX problem), ask Claude Code for help. Seriously, it's great at this sort of thing.

What Should Happen?

In the event of a system outage,

1. Claude Code should print a message stating the system is unavailable.
2. Logins that cannot be properly completed should fail with a message stating that the system is unavailable.

Probably be good in both cases to provide a link to a status page that reports conditions that are consistent with what users see when trying to use the system.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use Claude Code during an outage.
2. Login to platform.claude.com during an outage.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.72 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_