Subprocess Environment: Homebrew Bash Not Respected in PATH

Resolved 💬 4 comments Opened Jul 19, 2025 by dmmalam Closed Jan 4, 2026

Bug Description
## Bug: Claude CLI uses system bash instead of Homebrew bash despite correct PATH in user shells

### Environment

  • OS: macOS 15.5 (24F74)
  • Architecture: arm64 (Apple Silicon)
  • Claude CLI version: 1.0.53 (Claude Code)
  • System bash: GNU bash 3.2.57(1)-release at /bin/bash
  • Homebrew bash: GNU bash 5.3.0(1)-release at /opt/homebrew/bin/bash

### Description
Claude CLI environment defaults to system bash (/bin/bash) instead of Homebrew bash (/opt/homebrew/bin/bash), even though PATH is correctly configured in user's default shells (zsh and
fish) to prioritize Homebrew binaries.

### Current Behavior

  • Claude CLI's PATH has system directories (/usr/bin, /bin) before Homebrew directory (/opt/homebrew/bin)
  • Results in outdated bash 3.2.57 being used instead of modern bash 5.3.0
  • User shell configurations are not inherited by Claude CLI environment

### Expected Behavior

  • Claude CLI should respect user's PATH configuration from their default shell
  • Homebrew bash (5.3.0) should be used when available and configured in user's PATH
  • Modern shell features should be available in Claude CLI environment

### Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install bash via Homebrew: brew install bash
  2. Configure PATH in .zshrc/.config/fish to prioritize /opt/homebrew/bin
  3. Open Claude CLI with claude
  4. Run which bash or bash --version in Claude CLI
  5. Observe that /bin/bash (3.2.57) is used instead of /opt/homebrew/bin/bash (5.3.0)

### Impact

  • Inconsistent behavior between user's shell and Claude CLI environment
  • Claude gets confused with syntax.

### Suggested Fix
Claude CLI should either:

  1. Source user's shell configuration files to inherit PATH
  2. Provide a way to configure environment variables for Claude CLI sessions
  3. Use the user's default shell's PATH when launching subprocesses

Environment Info

  • Platform: darwin
  • Terminal: ghostty
  • Version: 1.0.53
  • Feedback ID: 7b8fd571-1abb-4b30-8a90-8ed547a07b3c

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