How to update Claude Code (and fix a failed update)

To update Claude Code to the latest version, run claude update. On the native install (the curl … | bash or PowerShell installer) that one command is enough, and the install also updates itself in the background. Homebrew, WinGet, npm and Linux package installs update through their own tool: brew upgrade claude-code, winget upgrade Anthropic.ClaudeCode, npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest, or your system upgrade.

claude --version confirms the number afterwards. The commands, messages and settings on this page are from Anthropic's setup and troubleshooting pages as they read on 22 October 2026.

Check your Claude Code version#

claude --version

It prints something like 2.1.211 (Claude Code). claude doctor in your shell goes further without starting a session: install health, errors in your settings files, and how the last update attempt ended. Inside a session, /status shows the version.

Which install do you have?#

The update command depends on how Claude Code was installed. On macOS and Linux, these four lines tell you:

which -a claude                                   # every claude on your PATH
ls -la ~/.local/bin/claude                        # native installer: a link into ~/.local/share/claude/versions/
brew list --cask | grep claude-code               # Homebrew: claude-code or claude-code@latest
npm -g ls @anthropic-ai/claude-code 2>/dev/null   # npm global install

On Windows, where.exe claude lists every claude on your PATH. Two results mean two installs, and the first one on PATH is the one that runs. So an update can succeed and change nothing you see: it went to the copy you don't run.

How to update Claude Code, by install method#

A successful claude update prints Successfully updated from <old> to version <new>, or Claude Code is up to date (<version>).

• On npm, use install … @latest. npm update -g keeps you inside the version range of your original install. Never use sudo npm install -g.
• Homebrew keeps old versions on disk; brew cleanup removes them.
• CLAUDE_CODE_PACKAGE_MANAGER_AUTO_UPDATE=1 lets a Homebrew or WinGet install update itself: Claude Code runs the upgrade in the background and asks you to restart. On WinGet that can fail while Claude Code is running, because Windows locks the file, and Claude Code then prints the manual command.

Moving from npm to the native install#

For npm permission errors, Anthropic's advice is the native installer, which needs no Node.js and no sudo:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash      # macOS, Linux, WSL
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex             # Windows PowerShell

Then remove the npm copy (npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code) so only one claude is left on your PATH.

Stable or latest: pick a release channel#

Claude Code ships on two channels. latest, the default, gets every release as soon as it's out. stable gets a version typically about a week old and skips releases with major regressions.

Change it in /config › Auto-update channel, or in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "autoUpdatesChannel": "stable",
  "minimumVersion": "2.1.100"
}

minimumVersion is a floor that updates never go below, so switching to stable won't downgrade you. Homebrew picks the channel by cask name instead, and apt, dnf and apk by repository. A newly launched model can need a newer Claude Code than stable serves; if a model says it needs a newer version, move to latest.

To install one exact version, pass it to the installer: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash -s 2.1.89 (or stable).

Fix a failed Claude Code update#

When the shell can't find claude at all, the PATH fix for each system and install method is in claude: command not found. Still stuck: claude doctor lists warnings with suggested fixes. A sign-in prompt that starts after an update is usually a credential problem, not the update (Claude Code keeps asking me to log in).

Stop Claude Code from updating#

To keep one version for a demo or a long overnight run, set one of two variables in the env block of ~/.claude/settings.json.

• DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1 stops background updates. claude update still works when you choose.
• DISABLE_UPDATES=1 blocks every update, manual ones included. Meant for companies that ship Claude Code themselves.

claude doctor confirms it: the Auto-updates line reads disabled (set by env: DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER). The other update switches are in the environment variables guide.

Updates across several computers#

A laptop, a desktop and a server that runs agents overnight are three installs to keep in step, and the one you forgot is the one that turns down a new model.

Shuriken updates the agent CLIs it installed itself. For Claude Code that means claude update at most once a day, and only after nothing has run on that computer for ten minutes, so an update doesn't land under a running chat. It never runs claude update on an npm or Homebrew install, which belongs to its package manager. A CLI you installed yourself stays yours: its row in Settings › Advanced › Agent CLI updates reads "Installed by you. Updated only when you press Update." The Pin version switch on the same screen keeps a CLI at the version it has. Each computer's card in Settings › Devices says when a CLI is missing, installing or failed to install.

A new computer gets the tools it's missing when you set it up, and a server added from the app installs and checks every agent CLI and the GitHub sign-in as part of setup. To have it done on each machine, download Shuriken.