[BUG] Claude CLI install fails with “another process is currently installing” (stale lock after uninstall)

[mweeker144]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Environment:

• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• zsh
• Homebrew installed (Claude not installed via brew)
• Cursor and VS Code previously installed (now removed)
• Machine rebooted multiple times

Issue:
Running:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Always fails with:
✘ Installation failed
Could not install - another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.

This persists after:

• full system reboot
• killing all Claude / Anthropic / Cursor processes
• removing ~/.claude
• removing ~/Library/Application Support/Claude
• removing ~/Library/Logs/Claude
• removing VS Code + Cursor + extensions
• verifying no claude binary exists in PATH
• brew uninstall / cleanup (Claude not installed via brew)

There are no running processes after reboot, yet the installer still believes another install is active.

Related issue:
#13599

This appears to be a stuck installer lock with no documented way to reset it.

What Should Happen?

Expected:
Installer should either:

• clear stale locks on startup, or
• expose a --reset / --force-lock option

Happy to test a fix or provide logs if needed.

Error Messages/Logs

✘ Installation failed
Could not install - another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On macOS (Apple Silicon), open a fresh Terminal (zsh).
2. Ensure no claude binary exists in PATH (which claude → not found).
3. Ensure no Claude-related processes are running (including after a full system reboot).
4. Run:
   curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
5. Installer fails with:
   “Could not install – another process is currently installing Claude. Please try again in a moment.”
6. Repeat after reboot and full cleanup — error persists indefinitely.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

I uninstalled everything this morning, but it was working perfectly yesterday on Opus

Claude Code Version

Whatever the latest was yesterday. I can't get Claude installed anymore totally blocked.

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

• Worked great yesterday.
• Run in the terminal of VS code
• Repeatedly uninstalled every trace of Claude so I could reinstall without any conflicts.
• Hypothesis: The installer (https://claude.ai/install.sh) is detecting a “Claude install already running” lock, and it’s never getting cleared, so every subsequent install attempt bails out with:
  “Could not install – another process is currently installing Claude…”
  This is possibly “stale lock file / stale state” behavior.

Let me know if this is something I can fix on my machine or if I need to wait for help. Would like to return to a personal project quickly using Claude.

[github-actions]

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Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Native installer fails with "another process is currently installing" on Linux even after complete cleanup #13599
2. Claude Code Installation Failure Due to Stale Lock File #14301
3. [Bug] Update process leaves stale lock file, blocking subsequent updates #13705

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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[mweeker144]

Found the issue: locks in .local were blocking me from reinstalling.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.