claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix Warning 'Native installation exists but ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH' fires even when ~/.local/bin is in PATH

Description

Claude Code shows the following warning beneath the input prompt even when ~/.local/bin is already present in $PATH:

Native installation exists but ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH. Run: echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Claude Code natively (binary at ~/.local/bin/claude)
2. Add ~/.local/bin to PATH via ~/.zshenv (or ~/.zshrc / ~/.zprofile)
3. Fully quit and relaunch VSCode
4. Open a new terminal — echo $PATH confirms ~/.local/bin is present
5. Run claude from that terminal
6. Warning still appears beneath the input prompt

Expected behavior

Warning should not appear when ~/.local/bin is verifiably in $PATH.

Actual behavior

Warning appears regardless. Running the suggested fix command has no effect since the entry is already present.

Environment

• macOS 25.5.0 (Darwin)
• Shell: zsh
• Terminal: VSCode built-in terminal
• Claude Code launched as CLI from terminal (not VSCode extension)
• ~/.local/bin confirmed in PATH via echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n' | grep local:

  /Users/mozdzanowski/.local/bin

• Native binary confirmed at ~/.local/bin/claude

Notes

Debugging revealed that Claude Code's PATH check may be reading PATH from a different source than process.env.PATH (e.g. a freshly-spawned non-interactive shell, or a macOS system-level API). The terminal's PATH is correct; the discrepancy appears to be in how the check is performed internally.