[BUG] macOS: npm/Homebrew install places native binary at bin/claude.exe, causing recurring "claude.exe would like to access data from other apps" TCC prompts
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues
- [x] This is a single bug report
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
On macOS, npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code installs the native macOS arm64 binary under the filename claude.exe. The package manifest maps the command to it directly:
"bin": { "claude": "bin/claude.exe" }
Because the on-disk executable is named claude.exe, macOS attributes the running process as claude.exe. This produces two user-facing problems:
- A recurring TCC permission prompt: "'claude.exe' would like to access data from other apps." Clicking Allow does not stop it — it reappears intermittently (every long-running session / background tool invocation).
- Privacy & Security panes (Full Disk Access, Files & Folders) show entries literally named
claude.exealongside the realclaude/Claudeones.
This is alarming on macOS — a Windows-named .exe requesting cross-app data access reads exactly like malware masquerading as Claude. It's not: the binary is the genuine, correctly-signed Anthropic executable (see evidence). The only defect is the filename.
This is the macOS manifestation of the packaging regression in #55777 (there it breaks WSL1; here the binary runs but mis-identifies to TCC). Related closed report of the same macOS symptom: #52788.
What Should Happen?
On macOS the binary should be installed as claude (no .exe), so the process name, TCC prompts, and Privacy entries all read claude and previously-granted permissions match.
Evidence
$ ls -l /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
.../bin/claude -> ../lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/bin/claude.exe
$ file /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/bin/claude.exe
Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64 # ~205 MB native macOS binary
$ codesign -dv --verbose=2 .../bin/claude.exe
Identifier=com.anthropic.claude-code
Authority=Developer ID Application: Anthropic PBC (Q6L2SF6YDW)
TeamIdentifier=Q6L2SF6YDW # genuine, properly signed
Steps to Reproduce
- On macOS,
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code(installs 2.1.158). ls node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/bin/→ file isclaude.exe, a Mach-O arm64 binary.- Run
claudeand use it across sessions. - macOS intermittently prompts "'claude.exe' would like to access data from other apps"; Allow does not persist. Privacy & Security shows
claude.exeentries.
Is this a regression?
Yes — per #55777, last working version 2.1.112; bin/claude.exe appears from 2.1.113 onward.
Claude Code Version
2.1.158
Operating System
macOS 26.5 (build 25F71), Apple Silicon
Terminal/Shell
zsh (Homebrew-managed Node/npm prefix)
Claude Model
N/A (packaging/installation issue)
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