[BUG] Claude Code not starting with corrupted path

i tried again and checked on API keys as well:

PS C:\Users\Admin> claude
Claude Code could not start: EUNKNOWN: unknown error, stat '\\c\Users\Admin\OneDrive - jnkresearch.com\SharedData'
PS C:\Users\Admin> claude --print "run the jnk-morning-brief"
PS C:\Users\Admin> claude auth status
{
"loggedIn": true,
"authMethod": "claude.ai",
"apiProvider": "firstParty",
"apiKeySource": "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY",
"email": "mjacobs@signalpoint.ai",
"orgId": "c15216c8-c02c-4406-a1b2-9fca8cf8dd78",
"orgName": "mjacobs@signalpoint.ai's Organization",
"subscriptionType": "max"
}
PS C:\Users\Admin> ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY : The term 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or
operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try
again.
At line:1 char:1

• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
• FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/64518
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/60025
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/49522

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Symptom match and root cause found (Windows, silent exit 0 from claude --print)
Environment: Windows 11, Claude Code 2.1.168 (native install), PowerShell, Max subscription, auto-update channel "latest".
Symptom identical to this issue: claude --print "say hello" exits code 0 with zero output, even with --debug. --version and --help work. Debug log initializes normally and ends silently shortly after "Git remote URL: null" (in our case, immediately after "Policy limits: Applied new restrictions successfully").
Root cause in our case: permissions.additionalDirectories in ~/.claude/settings.json contained Git-Bash-style paths, e.g. //c/Users/Admin/JNK_AgentState. Windows treats a leading // as a UNC path (server named "c"), and startup dies silently when these load at user scope. Likely the same family as #60025 (UNC additionalDirectory) and possibly the root-resolution regression noted in #64518.
Supporting evidence from isolation testing:

claude --setting-sources project,local --print works; user scope fails (same asymmetry reported in #60025)
Fresh CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR works
Temp config-dir bisect: credentials only, .claude.json, and plugins all pass; adding settings.json fails; the same settings.json with additionalDirectories rewritten from //c/... to C:/... passes
The same entries worked until approximately June 5, 2026. With auto-updates on "latest", a release in the June 5-6 window appears to have turned previously tolerated //c/ paths fatal. Suggest checking changes to path-root resolution in releases between 2.1.160 and 2.1.168

Fix/workaround: rewrite additionalDirectories entries to C:/... form.
Request: startup should fail fast with a validation error naming permissions.additionalDirectories (and normalize or reject //drive/ style paths) instead of exiting 0 with no output. The silent exit cost us three days of scheduled-task downtime before diagnosis.

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