[BUG] winget install succeeds but fails to create link — binary stranded in WinGet packages cache

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?

winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode reported "Successfully installed" and downloaded the binary (240MB), but:

• WinGet\Links\claude.exe — not created
• ~\.local\bin\claude.exe — not created
• ~\.local\bin was already in PATH

The binary was stranded at:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Anthropic.ClaudeCode_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\claude.exe

What Should Happen?

Claude Code should create symlinks or copies at WinGet\Links\claude.exe or ~/.local/bin/claude.exe so that the CLI is on PATH and usable after winget install, not leave the binary only in the package cache.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. On Windows (PowerShell), run: winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode
2. Wait for installation to succeed ("Successfully installed")
3. Confirm that no claude.exe is found in WinGet\Links or ~/.local/bin
4. Check %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Anthropic.ClaudeCode_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\ for a stranded claude.exe binary

Claude Model

_No response_

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.168

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Workaround: Manually copy the binary to ~/.local/bin/claude.exe or to a directory in PATH, e.g.:

powershell
Copy-Item "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Anthropic.ClaudeCode_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\claude.exe" "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

Related: #27867

> PS C:\Users\username> winget upgrade Anthropic.ClaudeCode
> Found Claude Code [Anthropic.ClaudeCode] Version 2.1.197
> This application is licensed to you by its owner.
> Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
> Downloading https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/2.1.197/win32-x64/claude.exe
>   ██████████████████████████████   225 MB /  225 MB
> Successfully verified installer hash
> Starting package install...
> Command line alias added: "claude"
> Successfully installed
> PS C:\Users\username> claude
> claude: The term 'claude' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.
> Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.