claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix statusLine: external binaries produce no captured stdout — requires bash -c wrapper [1 comments, 2 participants]

When configuring statusLine.command in ~/.claude/settings.json, external binaries (py, python, python3, and likely any non-builtin command) produce no captured output. The statusline remains empty with no error message. // Does NOT work — statusline empty, no error

TL;DR

Wrap external binary commands in bash -c '...' to capture their output in statusLine.command.

Guidance

• The issue seems to be related to how Claude Code handles external binaries versus bash builtins, suggesting a difference in how output is captured.
• To verify the issue, try running the external binary command manually and check if it produces the expected output.
• As a workaround, wrapping the command in bash -c '...' resolves the issue, as shown in the provided examples.
• Ensure that the path to the external binary is correct, although the issue persists even with the full path specified.

Example

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "bash -c 'python3 /path/to/script.py'"
  }
}

Notes

The root cause of the issue is not explicitly stated, but it appears to be related to how Claude Code interacts with external binaries. The provided workaround is effective but may not address the underlying issue.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by wrapping external binary commands in bash -c '...', as it consistently resolves the issue of capturing output in statusLine.command.