[BUG] On Windows with English as the primary system language, spell check in Claude Code only checks the primary language (English).

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?

Description

On Windows with English as the primary system language, spell check in Claude Code only checks the primary language (English). Secondary languages installed in Windows (e.g. German) are not picked up by the Electron spell checker, even when:

• German (Germany) is listed under Windows Settings → Time & Language → Language

→ Preferred Languages (position 2)

• Spell check is enabled for that language in Windows
• The app has been restarted

All German words are incorrectly flagged as spelling errors. The spell check context menu (right-click on misspelled word) does not offer a language switcher or the option to add languages — only the standard edit options (Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Select All) appear.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 1.7196.0 (2dbd78)
• OS: Windows 10 Pro (English, Build 19045)
• Secondary language installed: German (Germany) — with spell check enabled
• Primary language: English (United States)

Expected behavior

Spell check recognizes all languages listed under Windows Preferred Languages, or at minimum provides a way within the app to add/switch spell check languages.

Actual behavior

Only the primary Windows language is spell-checked. No language switcher appears in the right-click context menu.

Workaround requested

As noted in #58693, an option to completely disable spell check would be an acceptable interim workaround to avoid constant false-positive red underlines on valid German text.

Related issues

• #58693 — requests ability to disable spell check entirely

What Should Happen?

use system settings and do spell check for German as well

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Win 10 on English
Install German as second language and enable spell check in Windows Settings

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.7196.0 (2dbd78)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

<img width="845" height="100" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/44affcf2-6a63-4af6-a6f9-fc53fd4fa664" />

<img width="459" height="275" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/58eb9aea-e327-4fb2-8ab4-3d79b8c0b317" />