How to Fix a Crashed or Frozen Update

Hey everyone - quick troubleshooting guide based on a real issue one of our members ran into today.

What Happened

During a routine update, the install froze halfway through. When she tried to open Claude Code again, she got this error:

The term 'C:\Users...\node_modules@anthropic-ai\claude-code\bin\claude.exe' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.

Translation: The update started downloading the new version but never finished. The old version was already removed, so now the system can't find the program at all. Nothing is broken with your computer or your data -- it's just a half-finished update.

How to Fix It (2 Minutes)

Step 1: Open PowerShell

Press the Windows key

Type PowerShell

Click Windows PowerShell (run as Administrator if prompted)

Step 2: Uninstall the broken version

Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

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

Wait for it to finish completely before moving to the next step.

Step 3: Reinstall fresh

Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

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

This will download and install a clean copy. It may take a minute or two.

Step 4: Verify it works

Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

claude --version

You should see a version number printed out. If you do, you're good to go!

If That Doesn't Work

In rare cases, the leftover files from the crashed update can block the reinstall. If Step 3 fails or you still get errors, run these commands one at a time:

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\npm\node_modules\@anthropic-ai"

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

Then run claude --version again to confirm.

How to Avoid This in the Future

Don't close the terminal while an update is running -- let it finish

If your internet connection drops mid-update, just re-run the install command above and it will pick up cleanly

Updates usually take under a minute, so if it's been stuck for more than 5 minutes, it's safe to close and re-run the install

If you're still stuck after trying all of this, drop a comment below or DM me and we'll get it sorted out.

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