Hello!
Sometimes, even after installing Claude Code with the official PowerShell installer (irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex), running claude --version gets you scolded with "The term 'claude' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet..."

This is a known bug reported on Anthropic's official GitHub: the installer forgets to add the PATH entry. We hit this ourselves during an actual install, so here is the shortest path to a fix.

Environment

• Windows 11
• PowerShell 7.x (the code works the same on PowerShell 5.1 / Windows PowerShell)
• An Anthropic account (Pro / Max / Team / Enterprise)

Prerequisite: Install Git for Windows

When Claude Code runs natively on Windows, it uses Git Bash internally. Without it you will run into problems after installation, so check for it first

git --version

If that returns an error, install it with winget

winget install Git.Git --source winget

After installing, be sure to close and reopen PowerShell.git will then be on your PATH.

Step 1: Install Claude Code with the Official Installer

Run the following in PowerShell (no administrator rights needed)

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

On success you will see a message like this

Setting up Claude Code...
✓ Claude Code successfully installed!
  Version: 2.x.x
  Location: C:\Users\<username>\.local\bin\claude.exe

Next: Run claude --help to get started

At this point you will be tempted to run claude --help, but it probably won't work.

Step 2: Confirm the Error

claude --version

claude: The term 'claude' is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

If you see this error, the cause is almost certainly a missing PATH entry.

Step 3: Verify That claude.exe Exists

Just to be safe, confirm that it really was installed

Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

True coming back means the file exists. All that's left is to put it on the PATH.

Step 4: Add It to PATH

Permanently add ~\.local\bin to the user PATH environment variable

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "$env:PATH;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::User)

This command takes effect in future sessions, so if you also want it in the current session, run the following as well

$env:PATH = "$env:PATH;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin"

Step 5: Verify It Works

claude --version

If a version number appears, you're done.

If it still fails, close the PowerShell window completely and reopen it. Closing just a tab sometimes doesn't pick up the change. If that still doesn't work, restart Windows.

Step 6: First Launch and Authentication

claude

A browser opens and takes you into the OAuth flow. Sign in with your Anthropic account (Pro / Max, etc.) and a token is saved to ~\.claude\session.json, so you won't need to log in again.

Troubleshooting

Get-Command to locate the actual binary

To check which claude.exe PowerShell is resolving, run

Get-Command claude | Format-List

To check whether it is installed in more than one place, run

Get-Command claude -All

The winget Version and the Official Installer Coexisting

winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode and irm — if you have tried both, there are cases where both are installed and the older one takes precedence. This is also a bug filed on the official GitHub.

Remove the one you don't need

# To remove the winget version
winget uninstall Anthropic.ClaudeCode

Self-Diagnosis Command

When in doubt, run this — it detects installation state, version, authentication, Git, and PATH problems all at once

claude doctor

Why This Happens

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex places claude.exe in C:\Users\<username>\.local\bin\, but the step that adds this folder to PATH is not included in the current installer. The installer itself is aware of this — it shows a yellow "Setup notes" warning — but it does not fix it automatically, so for now the user has to handle it manually.

An issue has been filed with Anthropic, so it should be fixed eventually, but until then the manual workaround is required.

Summary: The Shortest Command Set

For when you get stuck, here is the whole flow in one place

# 1. Install
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

# 2. Verify the binary exists
Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

# 3. Add to PATH (persistent)
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "$env:PATH;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::User)

# 4. Add to PATH (current session)
$env:PATH = "$env:PATH;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin"

# 5. Verify
claude --version

If that doesn't do it, close and reopen PowerShell; failing that, restart Windows. That gets you through in almost every case.