The launch of Anthropic's coding tool, Claude Code, has got off to a rocky start.
According to a report on Github, Claude Code's auto-update function contained bug-like commands that made several workstations unstable and corrupted. When Claude code is installed at the “root” or “superuser” level (permission to grant programs the ability to make operating system-level changes), the buggy command allows the application to change the normal, restricted file directories, and in the worst case scenario, the “brick” system can be changed.
The problematic Claude Code Auto-Update command changed the access permissions for certain critical system files. Permissions define which programs and users can read or modify files, or run a particular app. One Github user said that the Claude Code command was forced to adopt a “rescue instance” to fix permissions for corrupted files inadvertently.
Anthropic has added a link to TechCrunch to a program that removes the problematic commands from Claude Code and directs users to the troubleshooting guide. There was initially a typo in the link, but humanity says that it has also been fixed.