False positive PATH warning on Windows: .local/bin already in PATH

Resolved 💬 4 comments Opened Apr 14, 2026 by HXuanheng Closed May 24, 2026

Description

On Windows, Claude Code shows a startup warning:

Native installation exists but C:\Users\..\.local\bin is not in your PATH. Add it by...

This is a false positive. The directory is already present in both the Windows user PATH and Git Bash $PATH at runtime.

Environment

  • OS: Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200
  • Shell: Git Bash (MSYS2)
  • Claude Code version: 2.1.107
  • Install path: C:\Users\XuanH\.local\bin\claude.exe

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code natively on Windows (placed in ~/.local/bin/)
  2. Confirm C:\Users\XuanH\.local\bin is in Windows user PATH via [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "User")
  3. Confirm it is also in Git Bash $PATH at runtime
  4. Launch Claude Code — warning still appears

Expected behavior

No warning when .local\bin is already present in PATH.

Actual behavior

Warning fires on every startup as a false positive. The check appears to run before settings.json env injection takes effect, or reads a different PATH snapshot than what is actually set.

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