Claude Code CLI Not Found Despite Being Installed

[coygeek]

Checklist

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

Area

Frontend

Operating System

macOS

Version

2.7.3 official release

What happened?

When using Auto-Claude v2.7.3 on macOS (Apple Silicon), the "Planning" phase fails with repeated errors:

Agent error: Claude Code not found. Install with: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
If already installed locally, try: export PATH="$HOME/node_modules/.bin:$PATH"
Or provide the path via ClaudeAgentOptions: ClaudeAgentOptions(cli_path='/path/to/claude')

However, Claude Code IS installed and accessible from the terminal:

$ which claude
/opt/homebrew/bin/claude

$ claude --version
2.1.5 (Claude Code)

Root Cause Analysis

The issue is a PATH environment variable inheritance problem between the Electron frontend and Python backend:

1. Claude CLI is installed via Homebrew at /opt/homebrew/bin/claude

2. The Electron frontend has awareness of this issue and includes /opt/homebrew/bin in COMMON_BIN_PATHS (see apps/frontend/src/main/env-utils.ts):

   export const COMMON_BIN_PATHS: Record<string, string[]> = {
     darwin: [
       '/opt/homebrew/bin',      // Apple Silicon Homebrew
       // ...
     ],
   };

3. The Python backend uses the Claude Agent SDK (claude_agent_sdk package) which spawns the Claude CLI as a subprocess. The create_client() function in apps/backend/core/client.py does NOT pass a cli_path parameter to ClaudeAgentOptions:

   options_kwargs = {
       "model": model,
       "system_prompt": base_prompt,
       # ... other options
       # NOTE: No cli_path parameter!
   }
   return ClaudeSDKClient(options=ClaudeAgentOptions(**options_kwargs))

4. When the Electron app spawns the Python subprocess, the subprocess does NOT inherit the user's shell environment (this is standard macOS behavior for GUI apps launched from Finder/Dock).

5. The Claude Agent SDK tries to find claude in PATH, but /opt/homebrew/bin is not in the subprocess's PATH.

Why the Frontend Works But Backend Doesn't

The frontend TypeScript code properly augments PATH before spawning processes:

// apps/frontend/src/main/env-utils.ts
/**
 * Common issue: `gh` CLI installed via Homebrew is in /opt/homebrew/bin
 * which isn't in PATH when the Electron app launches from Finder/Dock.
 */

But this PATH augmentation is NOT passed through to the Python backend subprocess, and the Python backend doesn't do its own PATH augmentation.

---

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Claude Code via Homebrew: brew install claude-code (or equivalent)
2. Verify installation: which claude shows /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
3. Open Auto-Claude desktop app (launch from Dock or Finder, NOT from terminal)
4. Open a project
5. Create a new task in the Kanban board
6. Click "Start Executing" button
7. During the "Planning" phase, observe the error:

   Agent error: Claude Code not found. Install with: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
   

Note: If you launch Auto-Claude from the terminal (e.g., npm run start), it may work because terminal sessions inherit the shell's PATH which includes /opt/homebrew/bin.

---

Expected behavior

Auto-Claude should:

1. Detect Claude CLI installed via Homebrew at /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
2. Pass the detected path to the Python backend (either via environment variable or command-line argument)
3. Pass cli_path in ClaudeAgentOptions when creating the SDK client
4. OR the Python backend should perform its own PATH augmentation to include common binary locations

---

Environment

• macOS: Apple Silicon (M-series)
• Auto-Claude version: 2.7.3
• Claude Code version: 2.1.5
• Claude CLI location: /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
• Installation method: Homebrew

---

Suggested Fix

In apps/backend/core/client.py, the create_client() function should accept and pass through a cli_path parameter:

def create_client(
    project_dir: Path,
    spec_dir: Path,
    model: str,
    agent_type: str = "coder",
    max_thinking_tokens: int | None = None,
    output_format: dict | None = None,
    agents: dict | None = None,
    cli_path: str | None = None,  # NEW PARAMETER
) -> ClaudeSDKClient:
    # ...

    options_kwargs = {
        "model": model,
        # ... existing options
    }

    # Pass cli_path if provided
    if cli_path:
        options_kwargs["cli_path"] = cli_path

    return ClaudeSDKClient(options=ClaudeAgentOptions(**options_kwargs))

And the Electron frontend should:

1. Detect the Claude CLI path using its existing getToolPath('claude') function
2. Pass this path to the Python backend via environment variable (e.g., CLAUDE_CLI_PATH)
3. The Python backend should read this environment variable and pass it to create_client()

Alternative: The Python backend could do its own PATH augmentation before calling the Claude Agent SDK, similar to what the frontend does.

---

Workaround

Until fixed, users can try:

1. Launch Auto-Claude from terminal instead of Dock/Finder:

   cd /path/to/auto-claude
   npm run start

2. Configure Claude CLI path in settings (if available):

   • Go to Settings > Paths
   • Set "Claude CLI Path" to /opt/homebrew/bin/claude

3. Create a symlink in a location that IS in PATH:

   sudo ln -s /opt/homebrew/bin/claude /usr/local/bin/claude

---

Logs / Screenshots

[coygeek]

Follow-Up: Workaround Confirmed Working

Summary

The "Claude Code not found" error during the Planning phase is caused by PATH environment variable inheritance when launching Auto-Claude from Finder/Dock on macOS.

Root Cause

GUI apps on macOS don't inherit the user's shell environment variables. When Auto-Claude is launched from Dock/Finder, the Python backend subprocess doesn't have /opt/homebrew/bin in its PATH, so the Claude Agent SDK can't find the claude CLI.

Workaround That Works

Launch Auto-Claude from terminal instead of Dock/Finder.

Add this alias to ~/.zshrc:

# Auto-Claude (launches with shell PATH to find Homebrew-installed Claude CLI)
alias auto-claude='/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/MacOS/Auto-Claude'

Then run:

source ~/.zshrc
auto-claude

Confirmation

When launched from terminal, the logs show successful detection:

[CLI Tools] Detected claude: /opt/homebrew/bin/claude (homebrew)
[Claude Code] Detection result: {
  "found": true,
  "path": "/opt/homebrew/bin/claude",
  "version": "2.1.5",
  "source": "homebrew",
  "message": "Using Homebrew Claude CLI: /opt/homebrew/bin/claude"
}

Suggested Permanent Fix

The Python backend's create_client() function in apps/backend/core/client.py should:

1. Accept the detected Claude CLI path from the Electron frontend (via environment variable like CLAUDE_CLI_PATH)
2. Pass it to ClaudeAgentOptions(cli_path=...) when creating the SDK client

This would allow the app to work correctly when launched from Dock/Finder.

Environment

• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• Auto-Claude v2.7.3
• Claude Code v2.1.5 (installed via Homebrew at /opt/homebrew/bin/claude)

[AndyMik90]

@coygeek Did the issue arise when updating from 2.7.2 to 2.7.3 within the app? or doing a fresh install?

[coygeek]

I had the previous one installed from https://github.com/AndyMik90/Auto-Claude/actions/workflows/beta-release.yml
I downloaded the official release 2.7.3 (DMG) from Github Releases, and when asked during installation, it "Replaced" the previous installation.

[luizeboli]

I am also facing this issue and installed from scratch. I tried v2.7.2/3/1, same results

[creator-hian]

The same issue is also reproducible on Windows

We have verified that the behavior described is also occurring on Windows systems.

On Windows, Auto-Claude fails to correctly detect the installed Claude Code CLI, even though it is properly installed and accessible from the terminal.

This results in errors such as:

Agent error: Claude Code not found

This suggests that the underlying issue (likely related to environment variable or PATH handling when spawning processes) is not platform-specific and affects Windows as well.

The problem is still reproducible in Auto-Claude v2.7.3.

[rklasen]

Can confirm, I've started fresh with 2.7.3 and the previous 2.7.2, and neither of them could find Claude cli.