Claude Code Not Found

What This Error Means

When CodeMantis launches, it searches your system PATH for the claude binary. If it cannot locate the executable, you will see a "Claude Code not found" error. This does not mean Claude Code is uninstalled — it usually means your shell environment is not configured so that CodeMantis can find it.

Diagnosing the Problem

Open Terminal and run:

which claude

If this returns nothing (no output), Claude Code is either not installed or not on your PATH. If it prints a path like /usr/local/bin/claude, the CLI is installed but CodeMantis may not be inheriting your shell environment correctly.

Common Fixes

1. Install Claude Code globally

If which claude returns nothing, install (or reinstall) Claude Code via npm:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

After installation, run which claude again to confirm the path is available.

2. Add npm's global bin directory to your PATH

On macOS, the default shell is zsh. npm installs global packages to a directory that may not be on your PATH. Open your shell configuration file:

nano ~/.zshrc

Add the appropriate line based on your setup:

# Standard Homebrew Node location (Apple Silicon)
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"

# Standard npm global location
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

# Common fallback
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

Save the file and reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc

3. Verify the fix

Run the following commands to confirm everything is working:

which claude
claude --version

Both commands should return valid output. Once confirmed, quit and relaunch CodeMantis — the app reads your PATH at startup, so a restart is required for changes to take effect.

Still Not Working?

If you installed Claude Code with a version manager like nvm or fnm, make sure the version manager's initialization script is in your ~/.zshrc so that the PATH is set for all processes, not just interactive terminal sessions. CodeMantis reads your shell profile on launch, so any PATH changes must be present there.