[BUG] Arabic RTL text still renders reversed in macOS Apple Terminal (v2.1.75)

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?

Description

Arabic (RTL) text renders completely reversed in Claude Code v2.1.75 on macOS Apple Terminal.
Words and characters display left-to-right instead of right-to-left, making Arabic output unreadable.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.75
• OS: macOS Sequoia (Apple Silicon, MacBook Pro)
• Terminal: Apple Terminal (TERM_PROGRAM: Apple_Terminal, TERM: xterm-256color)
• Also tested: VS Code integrated terminal — same issue
• Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8

Proof that Terminal supports Arabic

Running echo "اختبار العربية" in the same terminal displays Arabic correctly.
This confirms Apple Terminal supports RTL — the issue is in Claude Code's rendering layer (Ink/Yoga).

Screenshots

Terminal (Arabic works correctly ✅)

[Screenshot showing echo command with correct Arabic]

Claude Code (Arabic reversed ❌)

[Screenshot showing Claude Code with reversed Arabic]

Related Issues

• #29575 — Arabic RTL reversed in VSCode (closed as duplicate)
• #29662 — Persian/Arabic/Hebrew reversed
• #29811 — Hebrew RTL broken since v2.1.63
• #11050 — Feature request: Add RTL support for Arabic

Notes on Previous Fixes

• v2.1.69 fixed RTL in VS Code Extension only
• v2.1.74 fixed RTL in Windows Terminal + VS Code integrated terminal
• Neither fix mentions macOS Apple Terminal — this appears to be an uncovered platform

Impact

This affects all Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Hebrew, and Urdu users on macOS. Arabic is spoken by 400M+ people — RTL support on macOS would be very valuable.

Workaround

Currently using CLAUDE.md rule: "Always reply in English" — but this is not ideal for non-English-primary users.

<img width="374" height="311" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e9e972c0-7f22-4269-b3f4-f85a285041d9" />

What Should Happen?

Arabic text should render right-to-left (RTL) correctly, like this:

مرحبا! أنا جاهز لخدمتك.

The same way it renders correctly when using echo in the terminal directly.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open macOS Apple Terminal (or VS Code terminal)
2. Run claude
3. Type any Arabic prompt, e.g.: مرحبا كيف حالك
4. Claude responds in Arabic — text appears completely reversed

Actual Behavior

Arabic text renders reversed (LTR), like this:

.كتمدخل زهاج انأ !ابحرم

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.75

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Screenshots will be attached below showing:

1. Terminal with echo Arabic text rendering correctly (proving Terminal supports RTL)
2. Claude Code with reversed Arabic text (proving the issue is in Claude Code's rendering layer)

This issue likely exists because the Ink/Yoga rendering engine used by Claude Code doesn't properly handle Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm (UBA) for RTL text in the macOS Apple Terminal environment.

<img width="351" height="434" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e41f7099-2de3-4aee-b2ad-858e3a95de16" />
<img width="511" height="367" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5bddef74-5ecc-4760-820f-1a20407fbb7c" />

<img width="627" height="429" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/42b910b6-f15d-4737-a838-3b8c93344bca" />