Installing Claude Code on Windows

Last checked: 17 October 2026

Claude Code is Anthropic's command-line tool for coding with Claude. On Windows 10 and 11 you can install it with WinGet, without Node.js. This guide covers installing, signing in and two problems that come up on Windows: “claude is not recognized” and an old npm installation that gets in the way. It is based on what the Windows setup of Osiris does; what counts is Anthropic's official documentation, linked from Anthropic's Claude Code page.

Install Claude Code with WinGet

Open PowerShell or the command prompt and run this line. It is the same fixed command Osiris uses:

winget install -e --id Anthropic.ClaudeCode --source winget --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements

• Nothing else to install first — WinGet comes with Windows 10 and 11. Node.js and npm are not needed.
• Updates — run winget upgrade Anthropic.ClaudeCode from time to time; Anthropic's documentation describes the options.
• Native, not in WSL — you get a claude.exe for Windows itself. This is the version Osiris works with. For Anthropic's current system requirements, see their documentation.

When WinGet is done, close the window and open a new one before you go on — the next sections explain why.

Sign in to Claude Code

In the new window, run claude auth login. You can sign in with your Claude account, on a plan that includes Claude Code, or with an API key from Anthropic. Then run claude auth status: it tells you whether you are signed in, and how. Anthropic bills the usage directly, under your own plan or key.

“claude is not recognized”

This message often appears right after a successful installation. WinGet and the native installer add their folder to the PATH, but only for new sessions. A terminal that was already open, and every program started from it, still has the old PATH. So close the window and open a new one. If claude is still not found, check whether the file is where it belongs:

• Native installation (via claude install): %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe
• WinGet places a link here: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links\claude.exe

Osiris looks in both places itself, so it finds Claude Code even before a new PATH entry is active. When it opens a terminal for you to sign in, it puts that folder at the front of the terminal's PATH.

An old npm installation

Claude Code used to be installed with npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code. That needs Node.js — without it, Windows answers “npm is not recognized” — and on Windows it creates a batch file, claude.cmd. Such installations can cause two problems:

• Updates — if claude update fails on an npm installation, Claude Code itself suggests switching to the native version with claude install.
• Two versions — afterwards both are often on the machine, and the old one comes first in the PATH. You type claude and get the old version.

To see which versions exist and in which order Windows finds them, run where.exe claude. In PowerShell, type the .exe: plain where is a different command there. If an old npm version shows up, remove it with npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.

What Osiris does for you

Osiris is a desktop app built on Claude Code, and it works with your own sign-in. On Windows it takes most of the steps above off your hands:

• No administrator rights — the Osiris setup installs per user.
• A check at every start — Osiris asks Claude Code whether it is installed and signed in. If not, it shows the fixed command to copy — the WinGet line above, or claude auth login — and a button that opens a terminal with it.
• The newer version wins — if the native installation is newer than the one found in the PATH, Osiris uses the native one, even when the old npm version comes first.
• Updates without admin rights — when a model needs a newer Claude Code, Osiris tries claude update first, and if that fails on an npm installation, claude install. Never with administrator rights. A WinGet installation is updated through WinGet, as described above.

On the first start of the Osiris setup, Windows SmartScreen may ask before it runs: choose More info → Run anyway. The installers for all systems are in the download section of the homepage.

Claude Code in the Osiris terminal on Windows

Osiris has a terminal built in, with its own shell per tab. On Windows, PowerShell runs there in line mode:

• There is no tab completion, and Ctrl+C does not stop a running command.
• Full-screen programs such as vim, and the full interface of Claude Code, belong in the system terminal.
• claude or osiris in the built-in terminal start the Osiris session instead: streamed answers, indented tool steps and slash commands in the style of Claude Code, with your Ultrabrain and Memory behind it.

More on the editor and terminal in Osiris, and on what Osiris puts around Claude Code in a graphical interface for Claude Code.