[BUG] /login reports "Login successful" but credentials are never written to macOS Keychain (v2.1.199) #73861

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.199 (native installer, single installation at ~/.local/bin/claude)
• OS: macOS (MacBook Pro)
• Terminal: Terminal.app (local GUI session, no SSH, no tmux)
• Auth method: Claude subscription (Pro/Max), NOT API key

Bug Description

Running /login completes the OAuth flow in the browser and shows
"Login successful", but immediately after, Claude Code shows
"Not logged in · Please run /login". The credentials are never
persisted — the login loop repeats indefinitely (tried ~20 times).

What I ruled out (diagnostics)

1. Keychain itself works fine — verified write/read/delete:
   security add-generic-password / find-generic-password /
   delete-generic-password with a test entry all succeed.
2. The credential entry is NEVER created:
   security find-generic-password -s "Claude Code-credentials" -a "$USER" -w
   → "The specified item could not be found in the keychain."
   security dump-keychain | grep -i claude only shows
   "Claude Safe Storage" (Claude Desktop app), no CLI entry at all.
3. No file fallback exists: ~/.claude/.credentials.json does not exist.
4. No conflicting env vars: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and
   CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN are both unset; nothing related in
   ~/.zshrc / ~/.zprofile / ~/.zshenv.
5. No apiKeyHelper or forceLoginMethod in settings.
   settings.json only contains model/tui/theme options.
6. Single installation confirmed: which -a claude →
   only /Users//.local/bin/claude. Reinstalled via
   curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash — no change.
7. Keychain unlocked manually (security unlock-keychain) — no change.
8. ~/.claude.json and ~/.claude are owned by my user with
   correct permissions. ~/.claude.json does contain an
   "oauthAccount" key, so account info is written, but the token is not.

Workaround

claude setup-token + CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN env var works,
confirming the OAuth flow itself is fine — only credential
persistence is broken.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior

After a successful OAuth login, the token should be written to the
macOS Keychain ("Claude Code-credentials") or to
~/.claude/.credentials.json, and the session should stay authenticated.

Actual Behavior

"Login successful" is displayed, but no credential is written anywhere
(neither Keychain nor file), so authentication is lost instantly.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start claude in any project
2. Run /login, complete browser OAuth (subscription account)
3. Terminal shows "Login successful"
4. Next screen immediately shows "Not logged in · Please run /login"

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.1.199

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

No response