[FEATURE] Interactive login `c to copy` is unusable over SSH — surface `claude auth login` fallback in the prompt

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened May 18, 2026 by alta-atc Closed May 22, 2026

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
  • [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Title: Interactive login c to copy is unusable over SSH — surface claude auth login fallback in the prompt

Environment

  • Claude Code: latest
  • Context: SSH session into a remote VM, working from a local terminal

Problem
When launching claude on a remote VM over SSH, the new TUI login flow shows an OAuth URL and instructs the user to press c to copy. Over SSH, c copies to the remote machine's clipboard, which the local browser cannot reach. The URL itself is rendered inside the TUI in a way that mouse-selection often doesn't cleanly capture (mouse mode, line wrapping, decorations), so the only apparent path forward is manually retyping a 1000+ character OAuth URL into a local browser. This is effectively a dead end for SSH users.

What worked (the actual fix)
Exiting the TUI and running claude auth login instead. That command prints the OAuth URL as plain selectable terminal text and reads the pasted code back from stdin. This is documented in the troubleshooting page but is not discoverable from inside the login flow itself, which is where users hit the wall.

Why it matters
This is a first-run experience for remote-dev users. Hitting an unrecoverable-looking wall on step one is a bad first impression and likely a non-trivial source of silent drop-off. The fix is a single line of copy.

Repro

  1. SSH into any remote VM from a local machine
  2. Run claude and trigger the login flow
  3. Observe: pressing c copies to the remote clipboard; the URL is not easily selectable; no in-TUI hint points to claude auth login

Proposed Solution

Suggested change
In the interactive login prompt, add a one-line hint near the c to copy instruction, conditional or unconditional:

Over SSH or unable to copy? Exit (Ctrl+C) and run claude auth login for a selectable URL.

Optionally detect $SSH_CONNECTION / $SSH_TTY and surface the hint more prominently when set.

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_

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