[BUG] Ctrl+V image paste broken over SSH after 2.1.181 — OSC 52 clipboard read path regression

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?

Ctrl+V no longer pastes images from the Mac clipboard when running Claude Code
over SSH on a remote Linux (Fedora) host. The paste either does nothing or fails
silently. This has worked reliably for over a year and broke with 2.1.181.

What Should Happen?

Pressing Ctrl+V with an image in the Mac clipboard should paste the image into
the Claude Code prompt, as it did in all previous versions. Over SSH, this works
via the OSC 52 clipboard read protocol — Terminal.app forwards the Mac clipboard
contents to the remote process when requested.

Error Messages/Logs

No visible error — Ctrl+V either does nothing or produces no output in the prompt.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On a Mac running macOS 15.7.7, open Terminal.app
2. SSH into a remote Linux host running Claude Code 2.1.181
3. Copy any image to the Mac clipboard (e.g. take a screenshot with Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4)
4. Start a Claude Code session on the remote host: claude
5. Press Ctrl+V in the Claude Code prompt
6. Expected: image is pasted into the prompt
7. Actual: nothing happens / image is not pasted

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

2.1.179

Claude Code Version

2.1.181

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Strongly suspected cause: the 2.1.181 changelog entry "Fixed Ctrl+V showing
'No image found in clipboard' instead of pasting when the clipboard contains text"
changed the Ctrl+V handling. This appears to have broken the OSC 52 code path
that reads image data from the Mac clipboard over SSH.

Confirming evidence:

• Image paste via Ctrl+V works correctly in a LOCAL Claude Code session on the Mac
• Image paste is broken only when SSH'd to a remote Linux host
• Broke immediately upon updating to 2.1.181
• macOS Terminal.app supports OSC 52 clipboard reads and this was the working

mechanism for remote image paste

The local case works because Claude Code reads the clipboard directly via macOS API.
The SSH case relies on OSC 52 — the remote process requests clipboard data and
Terminal.app forwards it. The 2.1.181 Ctrl+V fix appears to short-circuit or skip
that path.