Shell snapshot $PATH not expanding — commands not found in Bash tool
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Mar 25, 2026 by SchlipShlop Closed Apr 24, 2026
Describe the bug
The shell snapshot file at ~/.claude/shell-snapshots/snapshot-*.sh contains:
export PATH=/home/USER/.claude/bin:$PATH
But $PATH is not expanded at snapshot creation time, resulting in the literal string $PATH being stored. When the snapshot is sourced, the shell PATH becomes:
/home/USER/.claude/bin:$PATH
This causes basic commands (grep, chmod, sudo, ls, cat, etc.) to return "command not found" when invoked through the Bash tool.
To Reproduce
- Run any command via the Bash tool (e.g.
grep --version) - Observe "command not found" error
- Check
echo $PATHinside the Bash tool — shows literal$PATHstring
Expected behavior$PATH should expand to the user's actual PATH at snapshot creation time, or the snapshot should source the user's shell profile to get the correct PATH.
Environment
- OS: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS (Noble)
- Shell: bash
Workaround
Manually hardcode the real PATH in the snapshot file.
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