---
title: Why does the Brain say Claude Code isn't installed?
question: Brain says Claude Code isn't installed
area: brain
order: 5
surface: desktop
audience: beginner
keywords: [claude code not installed, install claude code, get claude code, get claude code button, brain empty, brain blank, brain just shows a button, brain only shows a button, install button, brain not working, brain won't open, still says not installed, restart codus, quit codus, cloud, hosted, online, offline, sign in, login, logged in, detect claude, path, works in terminal but not codus, cc button]
related: [what-is-the-brain, talk-to-the-brain]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# Why does the Brain say Claude Code isn't installed?

The Brain runs on Claude Code, a separate program from Anthropic that lives on your Mac. If codus cannot find that program, the Brain shows a small install card ("Claude Code isn't installed on this machine") with a **Get Claude Code** button in place of the usual chat panel. To fix it, install Claude Code, then fully quit codus and open it again. A full restart is the most reliable fix, because codus remembers the "not installed" answer for about five minutes and the card has no retry button, so reopening the drawer on its own often shows the same message even after you have installed it.

## What you see

When Claude Code is missing, the Brain drawer (the panel that slides in from the right side of codus) hides its usual chat area and shows a short card in its place:

- The heading reads "Claude Code isn't installed on this machine".
- The body reads "codus Brain runs on your local Claude Code. Install it, then reopen this drawer."
- Below that is a single button, **Get Claude Code**.

That card takes over the whole space where the chat panel and the Brain's built-in browser (the Live View) normally sit. The row of icons across the top of the drawer stays put, but the globe and the help icon up there have nothing to act on while this card is showing.

## Fix it: install Claude Code, then restart codus

1. Click **Get Claude Code**. codus opens the Claude Code download page, [claude.ai/code](https://claude.ai/code), in your normal web browser (Safari, Chrome, whichever you use). The button does not install anything on its own. It only sends you to that page.
2. On that page, follow the instructions to install Claude Code on your Mac. Come back to codus once it finishes.
3. Quit codus completely. On a Mac, closing the window does not close the app. Open the **codus** menu at the top-left of the screen and choose **Quit codus**, or press Cmd and Q together.
4. Open codus again, then open the Brain. If codus found Claude Code, the chat panel appears in place of the install card.

## "I reopened the drawer like it said, but it still says not installed"

The card tells you to reopen the drawer, but that on its own often will not clear the message. Once codus decides Claude Code is missing, it remembers that answer for about five minutes so it does not have to re-check every time. The card has no "try again" button, so during those few minutes you keep seeing the same install card even though you have already installed Claude Code. Fully quitting and reopening codus clears that memory and forces a fresh check, which is why a restart is the dependable fix.

## Why it happens

The Brain has no cloud or online mode. It runs only on the copy of Claude Code installed on your own Mac, so if codus cannot find that program on your machine, there is nothing else to fall back to and you get the install card.

To find Claude Code, codus looks in the same places your Terminal would: your shell's startup settings, then the common folders where the program gets installed. There is a catch worth knowing. When you launch codus from the Dock or from Finder, it does not automatically pick up the same setup your Terminal app uses. So once in a while, a copy of Claude Code that works fine when you type `claude` in Terminal is not found by codus. A full restart usually sorts this out. If it keeps happening, install Claude Code using the standard method shown on [claude.ai/code](https://claude.ai/code) and restart codus again.

## It checks that Claude Code is installed, not that you are signed in

This card only means codus could not find Claude Code on your Mac. It says nothing about your account or whether you are logged in. If Claude Code is installed but you have not signed in to it yet, you do not see this card at all. You see the normal chat panel, and Claude Code itself asks you to sign in there, inside that panel. So if something is asking you to log in, that request is coming from Claude Code, not from this "isn't installed" message.

## Common problems

- "The Brain only shows a button, or looks empty." That button is the install card. It means Claude Code is not installed, or codus could not find it. Follow the steps above.
- "It works in my Terminal but codus says it's missing." This is the Dock and Finder launch difference described above. Fully quit codus (Cmd and Q) and open it again.
- "There is no Try again or Refresh button." Correct, there is not one. Restarting codus is how you make it check again.
- "The Get Claude Code button did not install anything." That button only opens the download page in your browser. You finish the install there, then return to codus and restart it.
- "The globe and the help icon at the top do nothing on this screen." While the install card is showing there is no Live View or chat panel yet, so those controls have nothing to act on. They work again once Claude Code is found and the chat panel appears.