Claude CLI not detected on Windows despite valid installation and multiple workaround attempts

[andrehsmendes]

Checklist

• I searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported

Area

Backend

Operating System

Windows

Version

2.7.4

What happened?

Claude CLI shows "Not detected" in Settings > Paths despite Claude Code v2.1.12 being correctly installed and fully functional from the command line.

Environment:

• Windows 11
• Auto-Claude v2.7.4
• Claude Code v2.1.12 (installed via npm)
• Node.js v22.x

Proof Claude Code works:

PS C:\Users\16475> & "C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude.cmd" --version
2.1.12 (Claude Code)

PS C:\Users\16475> where.exe claude
C:\Users\16475\bin\claude.cmd
C:\Users\16475\bin\claude.exe
C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude
C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude.cmd

npm directory is in PATH:

PS C:\Users\16475> $env:PATH -split ";" | Where-Object { $_ -like "*npm*" }
C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm

Additional bug: Clicking "Install Claude Code" button shows: Failed to open terminal for installation: require is not defined

Steps to reproduce

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Claude Code via npm on Windows: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
2. Verify it works: claude --version → returns 2.1.12 (Claude Code)
3. Open Auto-Claude v2.7.4
4. Go to Settings > Paths
5. Observe "Claude CLI Path" shows "Not detected"

Workarounds attempted (all failed):

1. ❌ Set path manually in UI to C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude.cmd → Still "Not detected"
2. ❌ Tried .cmd, .ps1, and direct .js paths → Still "Not detected"
3. ❌ Created native .exe wrapper that calls claude.cmd → Still "Not detected"
4. ❌ Manually edited settings.json to set "claudePath": "C:\\Users\\16475\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\claude.cmd" → Still "Not detected"
5. ❌ Set CLAUDE_CLI_PATH environment variable → Still "Not detected"
6. ❌ Restarted Auto-Claude and full system restart → Still "Not detected"

Expected behavior

Expected behavior

Auto-Claude should:

1. Auto-detect Claude CLI at C:\Users\16475\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude.cmd (it's in PATH and where.exe claude finds it)
2. Accept a manually specified path in Settings > Paths UI
3. Respect the claudePath value when manually set in settings.json
4. Respect the CLAUDE_CLI_PATH environment variable

Logs / Screenshots

# Logs / Screenshots

**settings.json** (after manual edit):

{
  "claudePath": "C:\\Users\\16475\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\claude.cmd",
  "preferredTerminal": "powershell",
  ...
}


**main.log** - No Claude detection errors logged, only basic init:

[2026-01-19 00:26:01.096] [info]  Error logging initialized
[2026-01-19 00:26:01.166] [info]  Debug IPC handlers registered


**claude.cmd contents** (standard npm wrapper):

@ECHO off
GOTO start
:find_dp0
SET dp0=%~dp0
EXIT /b
:start
SETLOCAL
CALL :find_dp0
IF EXIST "%dp0%\node.exe" (
  SET "_prog=%dp0%\node.exe"
) ELSE (
  SET "_prog=node"
  SET PATHEXT=%PATHEXT:;.JS;=;%
)
endLocal & goto #_undefined_# 2>NUL || title %COMSPEC% & "%_prog%"  "%dp0%\node_modules\@anthropic-ai\claude-code\cli.js" %*

---

**Possibly related:** PR #1141 "fix: pass CLAUDE_CLI_PATH to Insights runner for non-standard CLI locations" suggests similar detection issues exist elsewhere.

[github-actions]

👋 Thanks for opening your first issue!

A maintainer will triage this soon. In the meantime:

• Make sure you've provided all the requested info
• Join our Discord for faster help

[RevPain]

Yes I am having the same exact issue.

edit:
Other errors:

When trying to send a message on the insight screen. "Process exited with code 1"

Task Incomplete
This task has a spec and implementation plan but never completed any subtasks (0/0). The process likely crashed during spec creation. Click Resume to continue implementation.

---

Huge potential fix for mine. My Kanban works now. But insights is not still.

Found it! Line 27 has ultrathink: 65536 but Claude Opus 4.5's max is 64,000. Let me fix it.

● Update(~\AppData\Local\Programs\auto-claude-ui\resources\backend\phase_config.py)
  ⎿  Added 1 line, removed 1 line
      24      "low": 1024,
      25      "medium": 4096,  # Moderate analysis
      26      "high": 16384,  # Deep thinking for QA review
      27 -    "ultrathink": 65536,  # Maximum reasoning depth
      27 +    "ultrathink": 32000,  # High reasoning depth (reduced from 65536 for Opus 4.5 compatibility)
      28  }
      29
      30  # Spec runner phase-specific thinking levels

● Fixed! Reduced ultrathink from 65,536 to 32,000 tokens (Claude Opus 4.5 max is 64,000).

Try running the task again - it should work now.

[GucciPants]

Yes, I have the same problem. All functions work and use Claude CLI, but I get this error with Insights: Claude CLI not found.

[koystrubvs]

I confirm the same error.

[andrehsmendes]

The issue with: Failed to open terminal for installation: require is not defined error message is likely because Auto Claude is built using ES Modules but tries to use CommonJS require() which isn't available in that context.

which could be causing the issue with claude detection in the first place.

[InsightStream-Dev]

Confirming this issue with additional findings
I'm experiencing the exact same problem on Windows 11 with Auto-Claude v2.7.4.
My setup:

Windows 11
Auto-Claude v2.7.4
Claude Code v2.1.12 installed via native Windows installer (not npm) at C:\Users<USER>.local\bin\claude.exe

Key observation: The Electron frontend detects Claude CLI correctly (Settings → Paths shows "Installed" with correct path and version), but the Python backend processes cannot find it. Features like Insights return "Claude CLI not found. Please ensure it is installed and in your PATH."
Additional workarounds attempted (all failed):

❌ Set CLAUDE_CLI_PATH as system environment variable
❌ Added C:\Users<USER>.local\bin to system PATH
❌ Created .env file in resources\backend\ with CLAUDE_CLI_PATH=C:\Users<USER>.local\bin\claude.exe
❌ Configured path manually in Settings → Paths UI
❌ Restarted Auto-Claude multiple times

Additional bug found: The bundled Python environment is missing pywin32. I had to manually install it:
powershell& "C:\Users<USER>\AppData\Local\Programs\auto-claude-ui\resources\python\python.exe" -m pip install pywin32
This fixed the initial ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pywintypes' error, but the CLI detection issue persists.
Summary: This appears to be a disconnect between how the Electron frontend detects the CLI (works) versus how the Python backend spawns processes to find it (broken). The backend isn't respecting the configured path from Settings, the .env file, or system environment variables.
Happy to provide logs or test fixes if needed.

[Shotaro-Yoshinaga]

This step

Additional bug found: The bundled Python environment is missing pywin32. I had to manually install it:
powershell& "C:\Users\AppData\Local\Programs\auto-claude-ui\resources\python\python.exe" -m pip install pywin32

And installing Claude Code via the Windows (Recommended) method solved the issue.

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

[AndyMik90]

Closing as duplicate of #1410. Key information including workarounds attempted, pywin32 fix, ultrathink token limit fix, and root cause analysis (ES Modules vs CommonJS, frontend/backend disconnect) has been consolidated there.