codus says Claude Code is not installed, but I installed it

Your Mac cannot find Claude Code by name, even though the files are there. It installs to a location your Mac does not check by default, so codus looks, finds nothing, and reports it as missing. Fix it by adding one line to a settings file, then quitting codus completely and reopening it.

This is the most common problem people hit, and it gives almost no clue about what is wrong, so you have not done anything silly.

First, confirm that is the problem

1. Open your Mac's Terminal app. It is in Applications, inside Utilities. Spotlight search for "Terminal" also finds it.
2. Type claude and press return.

If you see command not found, this page is your fix. If Claude Code starts normally, your problem is something else and it is worth contacting us.

The fix

1. In Terminal, paste this line exactly and press return:

   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
   

   This adds the folder Claude Code installed into to the list of places your Mac looks for programs. It does not install or change anything else.

2. Close Terminal completely and open it again. The change only applies to newly opened windows.

3. Type claude and press return. It should start this time.

4. If it asks you to sign in, do that now. Claude Code signs in here, in Terminal, not inside codus.

5. Quit codus completely using the codus menu, then Quit. Closing the window is not enough.

6. Open codus again.

How do I know it worked?

The Brain drawer on the right shows a working agent instead of the Get Claude Code button, and the start button in a pane now actually starts an agent.

Still not working

A few things to check, in order of likelihood:

• You closed the window instead of quitting. codus reads this setting when it starts, so it has to be fully quit and reopened.
• You never signed in to Claude Code. Installing it is not enough. Run claude in Terminal and complete the sign-in.
• You do not have a paid Claude plan. Claude Code needs its own Pro or Max subscription from Anthropic, separate from your codus seat. The free plan does not include it.
• You use a different shell. The line above is for zsh, which is the default on modern Macs. If you have deliberately changed your shell, add the same line to that shell's settings file instead.

If none of that helps, tell us what claude prints in Terminal and what the Brain drawer shows.