[BUG] Fullscreen TUI default (~v2.1.150) breaks macOS VoiceOver / screen-reader access in Terminal.app

Open 💬 1 comment Opened May 29, 2026 by sbswigart

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?

Since fullscreen TUI rendering became the default (around v2.1.150), Claude Code captures mouse events and takes over the terminal via the alternate screen, which prevents normal terminal text selection. This breaks both macOS VoiceOver and macOS Speak Selection, the built-in assistive features that read terminal content and selected text aloud. With fullscreen as the default, Claude Code's output cannot be read by either feature out of the box; it only works after switching to the /tui default mode.

This is raised specifically as an accessibility regression caused by a default change, distinct from the general "I can't copy text" reports.

What Should Happen?

VoiceOver reads the output content, and click-and-drag selection works so Speak Selection reads the selected text aloud, as both did before fullscreen became the default.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Launch Claude Code in Terminal.app on a version ≥ 2.1.150 (fullscreen is the default).
  2. Let Claude produce some output.
  3. Attempt to read the output with VoiceOver

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

2.1.149

Claude Code Version

2.1.156

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

For VoiceOver and Speak Selection users, a default that takes over the terminal and captures the mouse means the tool's output cannot be read at all until an obscure command is discovered, which a new accessibility dependent user may never find. This is a hard barrier rather than a minor annoyance.

This new default may be controlled by a server-side feature flag rather than tied to a specific release. Related to https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/61936

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