How to install Claude Code on Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, WSL, and a desktop app

To install Claude Code on Linux, run curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash as your normal user, open a new terminal and run claude. It puts one binary under your home folder, needs no sudo and updates itself. On Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and RHEL you can use Anthropic's signed apt or dnf repository instead, and on Arch the AUR. The commands here were checked against Anthropic's docs on 15 October 2026, and the main ones run in fresh containers that day.

Install Claude Code on Ubuntu or Debian

The native installer is what Anthropic recommends, on Ubuntu 20.04 or later and Debian 10 or later:

The binary goes to ~/.local/share/claude/versions/ and a launcher to ~/.local/bin/claude. It prints no progress while it downloads. Run it without sudo: a root install lands in root's home, not yours.

To have apt install and update it instead, add Anthropic's repository. This is the stable channel, typically about a week behind and without releases that had major regressions. A minimal system first needs sudo apt install curl gnupg. Download the key, then check it:

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/keys/claude-code.asc \
  -o /etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc
gpg --show-keys /etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc

The fingerprint gpg prints should be 31DDDE24DDFAB679F42D7BD2BAA929FF1A7ECACE. Then add the repository and install. This is Anthropic's deb line with the key and the address in two variables, so it fits on a screen:

KEY=/etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc
REPO=https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code/apt/stable
echo "deb [signed-by=$KEY] $REPO stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/claude-code.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install claude-code

For the latest channel, both change: REPO ends in /apt/latest, and stable main becomes latest main. The package puts claude in /usr/bin, which is already on your PATH.

Install Claude Code on Fedora or RHEL

Fedora is not in Anthropic's list of system requirements, but Anthropic's dnf repository is "for Fedora and RHEL", and its native installer above is the same for every Linux. With dnf, on the stable channel, paste this whole block:

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/claude-code.repo <<'EOF'
[claude-code]
name=Claude Code
baseurl=https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code/rpm/stable
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://downloads.claude.ai/keys/claude-code.asc
EOF
sudo dnf install claude-code

dnf asks you to accept the key on the first install. Accept it only if the fingerprint reads 31DD DE24 DDFA B679 F42D 7BD2 BAA9 29FF 1A7E CACE. On Fedora 44 it did, and installed 2.1.292 into /usr/bin/claude. For the latest channel, set baseurl to .../claude-code/rpm/latest.

Install Claude Code on Arch Linux

Arch is not in Anthropic's list of system requirements, and Anthropic publishes no pacman package. Its one install command is the same for every Linux, and the AUR has a community package:

The AUR's claude-code (2.1.300 on 15 October, kept by community maintainers) downloads Anthropic's binary from downloads.claude.ai, checks it against a SHA-256 in the PKGBUILD and installs it to /opt/claude-code. Its /usr/bin/claude wrapper sets DISABLE_UPDATES=1, so Claude Code never updates itself: paru -Syu or yay -Syu does. yay -S claude-code works the same as paru.

Alpine and other musl systems

Alpine is supported from 3.19. Its base image lacks bash and curl, so the installer fails with not found until you add them, plus the libraries Claude Code needs at run time:

Then set USE_BUILTIN_RIPGREP to "0" in the env block of ~/.claude/settings.json. Anthropic also runs an apk repository, with its own key, on its setup page.

The native installer or npm

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code installs the same native binary through a per-platform package (linux-x64, linux-arm64 and the two -musl builds). It needs Node.js 22 or later, and npm's optional dependencies and install scripts must be allowed, or claude stays a placeholder that prints Error: claude native binary not installed.

Never run it as sudo npm install -g. Anthropic's docs warn against it, and an npm folder that only root can write is also one Claude Code cannot update. If npm reports EACCES, switch to the native installer rather than reaching for sudo.

Sign in, on a desktop or over SSH

Run claude and follow the browser prompt. You need a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan or a Console account; the free claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code. What each plan gives is in Claude Code pricing.

On a server over SSH, in a container or in WSL 2, the browser opens on another machine and cannot call back. After you sign in, the page shows a code: paste it at Paste code here if prompted. If pasting does nothing, run claude auth login, which reads the code from standard input. With ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set, Claude Code asks whether to use the key, and if you approve it skips the login.

Fix "claude: command not found"

The installer puts claude in ~/.local/bin and does not edit your shell files. When that folder is not on your PATH, it prints Native installation exists but ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH and bash then answers bash: claude: command not found. Whether a new terminal fixes it depends on the distribution's stock files for a new user, as they were on 15 October:

• Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 12. ~/.profile adds ~/.local/bin only if the folder existed when you logged in. On a fresh account it did not, so log out and back in, or add the line below.
• Fedora 44. ~/.bashrc always adds ~/.local/bin. A new terminal finds claude.
• Arch. Nothing adds it. Add the line below.

For zsh use ~/.zshrc; for fish, fish_add_path ~/.local/bin. A terminal inside an editor takes its PATH from the editor, so restart the editor too. Two installs at once show up in which -a claude; keep one.

Claude Code in WSL

Open your WSL distribution and run the Linux installer there, not in PowerShell: in WSL, Claude Code is the Linux program, and everything on this page applies.

• WSL 2 supports Claude Code's sandboxed command execution; WSL 1 does not.
• WSL 1 fails with cannot execute binary file: Exec format error. Convert the distribution from PowerShell with wsl --set-version <DistroName> 2.
• npm inside WSL can pick up Windows' Node.js. which npm and which node under /mnt/c/ mean it did; the native installer avoids the question.

Running Claude Code on Windows itself, without WSL, is in how to install Claude Code.

Common install errors on Linux

• Killed during the install. The out-of-memory killer stopped it; the installer reports exit code 137 and says it needs roughly 512 MB free. Add swap (sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile, then chmod 600, mkswap and swapon on it) or use a larger machine. Running it needs 4 GB.
• Illegal instruction, or CPU lacks AVX support. The CPU or the virtual machine has no AVX: pre-2013 processors, or a hypervisor that does not pass it through. grep -m1 -ow avx /proc/cpuinfo prints nothing on such a machine. In an x64 emulator without AVX on 15 October the installer printed CPU lacks AVX support and stopped with exit code 139. There is no workaround: npm and the repositories install the same binary.
• Error loading shared library libstdc++.so.6. A glibc system with musl cross-compilers installed can get the musl build. ldd --version says which libc you have; on glibc, remove Claude Code and install again.
• syntax error near unexpected token '<' or a 403. The install URL returned a web page or an error instead of the script. "App unavailable in region" in the output means Claude Code is not offered in your country; otherwise a proxy, a firewall or a short outage. Retry in a few minutes.
• The install hangs in Docker. Run as root from /, the installer scans the whole file system. Set WORKDIR /tmp first.
• NO_PUBKEY BAA929FF1A7ECACE from apt. The key download failed; repeat it and check the fingerprint.
• Bus error mid-session. The binary became unreadable while it ran, typically a home folder on NFS. Install to local disk or with a package.

What the install took

16 s

Anthropic's installer, Ubuntu 24.04

266 MB

the binary it leaves, 2.1.300

2.1.292

what apt and dnf served on stable

Fresh containers on an Apple silicon Mac, arm64 Linux, 15 October 2026: the installer took 15 and 16 seconds in two runs and installed 2.1.300, the latest channel. Anthropic's apt and dnf repositories on stable served 2.1.292, built 6 October: a 113 MB download, 251 MB installed (bytes / 10^6). Your network decides the time.

Update Claude Code on Linux

The native install checks for updates when it starts and while it runs, and switches to a new version the next time you start it. claude update installs one now; claude doctor shows the last attempt. The channel is autoUpdatesChannel in /config; the repositories choose it by URL instead.

Uninstall Claude Code on Linux

Your settings, MCP servers and session history stay in ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json. Delete them only if you want them gone; it cannot be undone.

A desktop app for Claude Code on Linux

Anthropic's Claude Desktop has a Linux beta with Chat, Cowork and the Code tab. It is a .deb from Anthropic's apt repository (sudo apt install claude-desktop) for Ubuntu 22.04 or later and Debian 12 or later, x86_64 or arm64. Anthropic's docs say to run the CLI instead on Fedora or Arch. It signs in with a claude.ai plan or SSO, not a Console API key, and updates with apt.

⤢

⤢

Caprock is a free, open-source desktop app that records every Claude Code session on the machine, whether or not it started it, and runs the claude you just installed in terminal tabs, beside Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Grok Build and Hermes Agent. It needs WebKitGTK 4.1 (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 38 or newer) and an x64 machine:

The script downloads Caprock-Linux.AppImage into ~/.local/share/caprock, adds Caprock to your applications menu and opens it. Where FUSE 2 is missing, as on Ubuntu 22.04 and newer, its launcher runs the AppImage without it. Run it again to update. The packages are Caprock-Linux.deb and Caprock-Linux.rpm; they pull in WebKitGTK themselves.

• It finds your claude wherever this page put it: ~/.local/bin, /usr/bin, npm's folder or nvm's. An app started from the menu inherits your login session's PATH, which on a fresh Ubuntu account lacks ~/.local/bin; Caprock also reads your login shell's PATH and checks those folders itself.
• Every session, not only its own. Claude Code started in any terminal is recorded from its hooks and transcript, with cost per session and per project at API list prices. On a plan that is an equivalent, not a bill.
• No desktop at all. On a server the daemon alone serves the same dashboard on 127.0.0.1:22776. Homebrew on Linux has it as brew install dspv/tap/caprock; the releases have linux_amd64 and linux_arm64 archives. caprock service install adds a systemd user unit that starts it when you log in.

This is caprock status from v0.119.0 in a fresh Debian 12 container on 15 October, with Claude Code installed from Anthropic's apt repository:

$ caprock up --yes
$ caprock status
daemon:  running  http://127.0.0.1:22776  (pid 3500, up 4s, 0.119.0)
data:    /home/dev/.config/caprock
pricing: 2026-10-13.1 (44 models)
hooks:   10/10 events registered in /home/dev/.claude/settings.json
ingest:  0 transcripts, 0 events stored, 0 deduped, backfill done
claude:  found on PATH — Caprock can start sessions for you

claude: is the line to check: found means Caprock can start Claude Code for you. hooks: is one of the two edits Caprock makes to Claude Code's settings.json, the other being a status line. Plain caprock up asks before each; --yes answered for this run. ingest: reads 0 because the container had no sessions yet; on your machine it imports the transcripts still in ~/.claude/projects.

Caprock reads the ~/.claude of the system it runs on, so sessions inside WSL need Caprock inside WSL. The Linux script stops in WSL and points to the Windows installer; CAPROCK_WSL=1 before sh installs the Linux app there instead.

Which to pick

• The native installer — any distribution, and you want updates without thinking about them.
• apt or dnf — you want claude updated with the rest of the system, or installed for every user in /usr/bin.
• The AUR — you are on Arch and want pacman to own every binary.
• npm — you already pin tools per machine with Node.js 22 or later.
• Claude Desktop — Ubuntu or Debian, and you want Anthropic's own window with Cowork.
• Claude Code beside your other agents, in one record — install Claude Code above, then install Caprock.