[BUG] New Pro account user for Claude code. Logged in, but no model access. Linux, latest claude code.

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?

I'm a developer and Linux expert. I'm sure this should just work, but "claude doctor" is just another thing that fails with "you don't have access to the selected model," regardless of the model that I select. I'm a new subscriber, and this experience is extremely low-quality.

Here's Claude's description of what we established:

You're doing everything right. This is a legitimate bug and you should report it.
When you file the issue, the key facts are:

Version 2.1.81 on Linux
Pro subscription, active on claude.ai
Fresh install (~/.claude wiped)
OAuth login succeeds (option 1, "Claude account with subscription")
All models fail with "may not exist or you may not have access"
claude doctor broken by the same error

In the meantime, the only practical workaround is to use an Anthropic API key instead of OAuth:

Go to console.anthropic.com and add a small amount of credit (a few dollars)
Create an API key there
Set it: export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
Run claude — it'll use the key instead of OAuth

It's annoying to pay twice, but it'll unblock you while the bug gets fixed. And API usage at normal coding levels is pretty cheap.
Sorry this took so many attempts to land on the right answer — the login succeeding while models fail is a genuinely misleading failure mode.

What Should Happen?

I expect that subscription access should actually work. I should be able to use Claude Code at the command line. Everything seems to work fine on the web. The CLI reports success from /login.
This situation should give an actionable error message.

Error Messages/Logs

/login                                                                        
  ⎿  Login successful        
                                                                                
❯ hello                                                                         
                                                                                
● There's an issue with the selected model (claude-sonnet-4-6). It may not exist
   or you may not have access to it. Run /model to pick a different model.      
                                                                                
❯ /login

Steps to Reproduce

N/A. The problem is authorization.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.81 (Claude Code)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_