[BUG] macOS OAuth authentication succeeds but auth token not persisted - shows 'Missing API key' after successful login

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/5225
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/5166
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/5167

If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Tested with multiple installation methods:

• npm global installation: Same issue
• Native installation with conflicts: Same issue
• Clean, single native installation: Same issue

Latest claude doctor output (clean installation):
Diagnostics
└ Currently running: native (1.0.69)
└ Path: /Users/timuryalcin/.local/bin/claude
└ Config install method: native
└ Auto-updates enabled: true

OAuth flow consistently works, but credentials are never persisted.

Downgrading to 1.0.67 also did not work for me...

Still Missing API key · Run /login

Closing claude, and reopening did the trick AFTER the downgrade!!!

https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/1222#issuecomment-3013457571 fixed it for me running on 1.0.69

I also downgraded to 1.0.67 to make it work. sorry for being a novice, but, how will we know when this is fixed? just follow this open bug?

I have the same issue with the 1.0.70 version. It's really annoying.

I have this issue with v1.0.71. after uninstalling and reinstalling multiple times it now works. I had the issue originally with just the npm installed version. I then install the native version still had the issue. Then I uninstalled and reinstalled both the npm version and the native version, leaving only the native version and this now appears to work. Seems more likely that there's invalid state in the install than any particular version actually being a part of the bug. Difficult to diagnose.

same issue

I thought I turned autoupdate off. It seems to have autoupdated anyway. The bug was reintroduced, I manually downgraded to 1.0.67 by remove .71 and .72 and then setting the symlink. .67 failed to login, but at some point it downloaded .72 and switched the symlink. I restarted my terminal. This feels like The Shining, .72 works. But it seems as though it requires failing via .67 at some point. Also I'm logging in a lot during this process.

❯ claude doctor

 Diagnostics
 └ Currently running: npm-global (1.0.72)
 └ Path: /opt/homebrew/Cellar/node/24.4.1/bin/node
 └ Invoked: /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
 └ Config install method: unknown
 └ Auto-updates enabled: true
 └ Update permissions: Yes

 Agent Configurations
 └ Loaded custom agents: 0

I get this Config install method: unknown, which might be the problem.

I have the same issue whatever version I tried >1.0.67.
Would be nice to fix it, it's very annoying
thanks

Same here, very annoying

I had this issue for a while and it turned out to be that I had modified PATH in my claude env in .claude/settings.json. I'm not sure why this caused an issue because it should have had the rest of the previous PATH there, but it did.

So with the following line I kept getting the error, but removing the setting of PATH fixed it.

{
  "env": {
    "PATH": "$PATH:/Users/myuser/.venv/bin",
    ...
  },
  ...
}

Been fighting this all day. None of the suggestions here worked for me.

However, this worked:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

From here: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/setup

Been fighting this all day. None of the suggestions here worked for me. However, this worked: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash From here: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/setup

Thanks, I have been troubled by this issue for half a month. your method works for me too!

Still unresolved. I haven't been able to login since v1.0.67.

None of the tips above work.
Other coding CLIs work perfectly fine, I've been using Codex much more because it works, but would love to see this fixed!

I may have successfuly fixed this doing the following, providing that I'm running from MacOS.

Potential root cause

It seems that Claude-code stores the credentials into the Session keychain. The thing is that in my setup, I'm running it via ssh so I'm not opening a "real" MacOS session, and therefore do not unlock the keychain, which leads to the error shown.

Solution

Use '''security unlock''' to unlock the desired keychain before invoking claude-code, and ideally when opening a session.

Use '''security unlock''' to unlock the desired keychain before invoking claude-code, and ideally when opening a session.

This worked for me too! Thanks @yplassiard

Same issue here had to file a chargeback with Amex as my Max plan renewed days ago and since then I have not been able to use it at all; nothing but endless /login loops.

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