Add 2.0.4 and 2.0.6 release notes to CHANGELOG

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace PATH injection with post-install executable.path auto-config
2026-06-14 10:22:13 +08:00 · 2026-04-23 22:48:49 +01:00 · 2026-04-23 22:44:00 +01:00 · 2026-04-19 21:21:11 +01:00
7 changed files with 285 additions and 118 deletions
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,66 @@ All notable changes to the "claude-code-chat" extension will be documented in th

 Check [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/) for recommendations on how to structure this file.

+## [2.0.6] - 2026-04-23
+
+### 🚀 Features Added
+- **Smarter post-install setup**: Fresh installs now "just work" without a VS Code restart. After install, the extension checks whether `claude` resolved on your PATH and, if not, auto-configures `claudeCodeChat.executable.path` to the known install location. An existing custom executable path is respected.
+- **WSL: Node.js path is now optional**: Recent Claude Code ships as a native binary and doesn't need Node. Leave the **Node.js Path** field blank unless you installed Claude via npm. The WSL settings panel was also reordered so **Claude Path** comes first.
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes
+- **Rock-solid terminals across shells**: Login, Model, /usage, and slash-command terminals now launch Claude directly instead of sending text through the shell. Fixes a class of quoting issues on Windows PowerShell and keeps behavior identical across PowerShell, cmd, bash, and zsh.
+
+### 🔧 Technical Improvements
+- Terminal sites now use `createTerminal`'s `shellPath`/`shellArgs` — no shell quoting, consistent env inheritance, identical behavior across OSes.
+
+## [2.0.4] - 2026-04-21
+
+### 🚀 Features Added
+- **Plan Mode (Improved)**:
+  - Plans now render as beautifully formatted markdown with headings, lists, and code blocks
+  - Suggested actions shown as clickable buttons below the plan (e.g. "run npm build")
+  - Permission prompt says "Approve the plan above?" with an Approve button instead of the generic tool approval
+- **MCP, Skills & Plugins Marketplace**:
+  - Browse 30+ curated MCP servers (GitHub, Slack, Stripe, Notion, Supabase, etc.)
+  - Search across both add-mcp curated and official Anthropic registries with smart ranking
+  - Install MCP servers to project (`.mcp.json`) or global (`~/.claude.json`)
+  - Skills marketplace with one-click install via `npx skills add`
+  - Plugins marketplace to extend Claude Code
+  - OAuth authentication support — open terminal to log in to MCPs
+- **150+ AI Models via OpenCredits**:
+  - Quick model switching: GPT, Gemini, MiniMax, Kimi, GLM, DeepSeek buttons above the text box
+  - Browse and select from 150+ models across providers
+  - Pay-as-you-go with OpenCredits — no subscription needed
+  - US & EU provider filtering option in settings
+  - Model selection persists correctly after checkout
+- **Image Preview**:
+  - Paste or pick images with thumbnail preview before sending
+  - Remove attached images before sending
+  - Multiple image attachments per message
+  - Image paths in text auto-detected and sent as base64
+- **Support & Feedback**:
+  - "Support" button in status bar to send bug reports and feature requests
+  - Submissions sent directly to Discord
+
+### 🎨 UI Improvements
+- Inline stop button replaces send button during processing
+- Self-hosted Umami analytics with editor tracking (VS Code vs Cursor)
+- BETA badge on model section with instant tooltip
+- Cleaner model selector and Browse All Models alignment
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes & Reliability
+- Fix model not being selected after OpenCredits checkout
+- Fix provider choice modal appearing unexpectedly after settings changes
+- Fix duplicate login error toast
+- Fix WSL environment variable passthrough for OpenCredits
+- Fix Windows URL opening with `start` command
+- Fix `--mcp-config` error on fresh installs
+- Await `setEnvsDisabled` so settings reflect changes immediately
+- Skip npx install prompt with `-y` flag for skills
+- Better install error messages (Node.js 18+ requirement)
+- Add node and mocha types to tsconfig for clean editor diagnostics
+- Remove debug `console.log`s, add `console.error` to empty catch blocks
+
 ## [1.1.0] - 2025-12-06

 ### 🚀 Features Added
--- a/build/open-vsix/build.sh
+++ b/build/open-vsix/build.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 set -e

 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-VERSION="2.0.4"
+VERSION="2.0.6"
 OUTPUT_NAME="vsix-claude-code-chat-${VERSION}.vsix"

 echo "Building Open VSIX version ${VERSION}..."
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
  "name": "claude-code-chat",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "2.0.6",
  "lockfileVersion": 3,
  "requires": true,
  "packages": {
    "": {
      "name": "claude-code-chat",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "version": "2.0.6",
      "license": "SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE",
      "devDependencies": {
        "@types/mocha": "^10.0.10",
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  "name": "claude-code-chat",
  "displayName": "Chat for Claude Code",
  "description": "Beautiful Claude Code Chat Interface for VS Code",
-  "version": "2.0.4",
+  "version": "2.0.6",
  "publisher": "AndrePimenta",
  "author": "Andre Pimenta",
  "repository": {
@@ -162,8 +162,8 @@
        },
        "claudeCodeChat.wsl.nodePath": {
          "type": "string",
-          "default": "/usr/bin/node",
-          "description": "Path to Node.js in the WSL distribution"
+          "default": "",
+          "description": "Optional path to Node.js in the WSL distribution. Only needed if Claude was installed via npm. Recent Claude installs ship as a native executable and don't require Node."
        },
        "claudeCodeChat.wsl.claudePath": {
          "type": "string",
--- a/src/extension.ts
+++ b/src/extension.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import * as cp from 'child_process';
 import * as util from 'util';
 import * as path from 'path';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
 import getHtml from './ui';
 import { startRouter, stopRouter, setModelConfig, setBaseUrl } from './router';
 import { fetchAndResolveModels } from './model-updater';
@@ -481,7 +482,7 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 				this._dismissWSLAlert();
 				return;
 			case 'runInstallCommand':
-				this._runInstallCommand();
+				this._runInstallCommand(message.method || 'installer');
 				return;
 			case 'openLoginTerminal':
 				this._openLoginTerminal();
@@ -971,7 +972,7 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {

 		const wslEnabled = config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false);
 		const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
-		const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '/usr/bin/node');
+		const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '');
 		const claudePath = config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude');
 		const routerExplicitlyEnabled = config.get<boolean>('router.enabled', false);
 		const customExecutablePath = config.get<string>('executable.path', '');
@@ -1034,8 +1035,7 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 				.join(' && ');
 			const envPrefix = envExports ? envExports + ' && ' : '';

-			const quotedArgs = args.map(a => a.includes(' ') ? `"${a}"` : a).join(' ');
-			const wslCommand = `${envPrefix}"${nodePath}" --no-warnings --enable-source-maps "${claudePath}" ${quotedArgs}`;
+			const wslCommand = envPrefix + this._buildWslClaudeCommand(nodePath, claudePath, args);

 			// Track WSL state for proper process termination
 			this._isWslProcess = true;
@@ -1244,11 +1244,19 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			});

 			if (code !== 0 && errorOutput.trim()) {
-				// Error with output
-				this._sendAndSaveMessage({
-					type: 'error',
-					data: errorOutput.trim()
-				});
+				// Check if claude command is not installed (Windows cmd.exe)
+				if (errorOutput.includes('not recognized as an internal or external command')) {
+					this._postMessage({
+						type: 'showInstallModal',
+						installAttempted: !!this._context.globalState.get('installAttempted')
+					});
+				} else {
+					// Error with output
+					this._sendAndSaveMessage({
+						type: 'error',
+						data: errorOutput.trim()
+					});
+				}
 			}
 		});

@@ -1278,9 +1286,10 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			});

 			// Check if claude command is not installed
-			if (error.message.includes('ENOENT') || error.message.includes('command not found')) {
+			if (error.message.includes('ENOENT') || error.message.includes('command not found') || error.message.includes('not recognized as an internal or external command')) {
 				this._postMessage({
-					type: 'showInstallModal'
+					type: 'showInstallModal',
+					installAttempted: !!this._context.globalState.get('installAttempted')
 				});
 			} else {
 				this._sendAndSaveMessage({
@@ -3336,7 +3345,7 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			'thinking.intensity': config.get<string>('thinking.intensity', 'think'),
 			'wsl.enabled': config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false),
 			'wsl.distro': config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu'),
-			'wsl.nodePath': config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '/usr/bin/node'),
+			'wsl.nodePath': config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', ''),
 			'wsl.claudePath': config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude'),
 			'permissions.yoloMode': config.get<boolean>('permissions.yoloMode', false),
 			'router.enabled': config.get<boolean>('router.enabled', false),
@@ -3561,13 +3570,20 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 		});
 	}

-	private _openModelTerminal(): void {
-		const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
-		const wslEnabled = config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false);
-		const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
-		const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '/usr/bin/node');
-		const claudePath = config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude');
+	private _quoteBashArg(value: string): string {
+		return `'${value.replace(/'/g, `'\"'\"'`)}'`;
+	}

+	private _buildWslClaudeCommand(nodePath: string, claudePath: string, args: string[] = []): string {
+		const trimmedNodePath = nodePath.trim();
+		const commandParts = trimmedNodePath
+			? [this._quoteBashArg(trimmedNodePath), '--no-warnings', '--enable-source-maps', this._quoteBashArg(claudePath)]
+			: [this._quoteBashArg(claudePath)];
+		const quotedArgs = args.map(arg => this._quoteBashArg(arg));
+		return [...commandParts, ...quotedArgs].join(' ');
+	}
+
+	private _openModelTerminal(): void {
 		// Build command arguments
 		const args = ['/model'];

@@ -3576,16 +3592,12 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			args.push('--resume', this._currentSessionId);
 		}

-		// Create terminal with the claude /model command
+		// Launch claude as the terminal process directly — no shell quoting
 		const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
 			name: 'Claude Model Selection',
-			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One }
+			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One },
+			...this._buildClaudeTerminalOptions(args)
 		});
-		if (wslEnabled) {
-			terminal.sendText(`wsl -d ${wslDistro} ${nodePath} --no-warnings --enable-source-maps ${claudePath} ${args.join(' ')}`);
-		} else {
-			terminal.sendText(`claude ${args.join(' ')}`);
-		}
 		terminal.show();

 		// Show info message
@@ -3601,78 +3613,121 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 		});
 	}

-	private _openUsageTerminal(usageType: string): void {
-		// Get WSL configuration
-		const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
-		const wslEnabled = config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false);
-		const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
-
+	private _openUsageTerminal(_usageType: string): void {
 		const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
 			name: 'Claude Usage',
-			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One }
+			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One },
+			...this._buildClaudeTerminalOptions(['/usage'])
 		});
-
-		let command: string;
-		if (usageType === 'plan') {
-			// Plan users get live usage view
-			command = 'npx -y ccusage blocks --live';
-		} else {
-			// API users get recent usage history
-			command = 'npx -y ccusage blocks --recent --order desc';
-		}
-
-		if (wslEnabled) {
-			terminal.sendText(`wsl -d ${wslDistro} bash -ic "${command}"`);
-		} else {
-			terminal.sendText(command);
-		}
-
 		terminal.show();
 	}

-	private _runInstallCommand(): void {
-		// Check if npm is available with Node >= 18
-		cp.exec('node -e "process.exit(parseInt(process.version.slice(1)) >= 18 ? 0 : 1)"', (checkErr) => {
-			if (checkErr) {
+	private _runInstallCommand(method: string = 'installer'): void {
+		let command: string;
+		if (method === 'npm') {
+			command = 'npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code';
+		} else if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+			command = 'powershell.exe -Command "irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex"';
+		} else {
+			command = 'curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash';
+		}
+
+		// Track that user has attempted install at least once
+		this._context.globalState.update('installAttempted', true);
+
+		cp.exec(command, { timeout: 600000 }, async (error) => {
+			if (error) {
 				this._postMessage({
 					type: 'installComplete',
 					success: false,
-					error: 'Node.js 18+ is required. Please install Node.js from https://nodejs.org/en/download and try again.'
+					error: 'Installation failed. Please run in terminal: ' + command,
+					method: method
 				});
 				return;
 			}

-			cp.exec('npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code', { timeout: 120000 }, (error) => {
-				if (error) {
-					this._postMessage({
-						type: 'installComplete',
-						success: false,
-						error: 'Installation failed. Please run in terminal: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code'
-					});
-				} else {
-					this._postMessage({ type: 'installComplete', success: true });
+			const available = await this._checkClaudeAvailable();
+			if (available) {
+				this._postMessage({ type: 'installComplete', success: true, method });
+				return;
+			}
+
+			const installLocation = this._getKnownInstallLocation();
+			if (!fs.existsSync(installLocation)) {
+				this._postMessage({
+					type: 'installComplete',
+					success: true,
+					method,
+					notOnPath: true,
+					installLocation
+				});
+				return;
+			}
+
+			const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
+			const existing = config.get<string>('executable.path', '');
+			if (!existing) {
+				try {
+					await config.update('executable.path', installLocation, vscode.ConfigurationTarget.Global);
+				} catch {
+					// fall through; UI will guide user
 				}
+			}
+			this._postMessage({
+				type: 'installComplete',
+				success: true,
+				method,
+				configuredPath: installLocation,
+				existingPathRespected: !!existing
 			});
 		});
 	}

-	private _openLoginTerminal(): void {
+	private _checkClaudeAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
+		const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
+		if (config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false)) {
+			return Promise.resolve(true);
+		}
+		const probe = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'where claude' : 'command -v claude';
+		return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+			cp.exec(probe, { env: process.env }, (err) => resolve(!err));
+		});
+	}
+
+	private _getKnownInstallLocation(): string {
+		const homeDir = process.env.HOME || process.env.USERPROFILE || '';
+		const binary = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'claude.exe' : 'claude';
+		return path.join(homeDir, '.local', 'bin', binary);
+	}
+
+	private _buildClaudeTerminalOptions(args: string[] = []): { shellPath: string; shellArgs: string[] } {
 		const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
 		const wslEnabled = config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false);
-		const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
-		const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '/usr/bin/node');
-		const claudePath = config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude');
-
-		const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
-			name: 'Claude Login',
-			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One }
-		});

 		if (wslEnabled) {
-			terminal.sendText(`wsl -d ${wslDistro} ${nodePath} --no-warnings --enable-source-maps ${claudePath}`);
-		} else {
-			terminal.sendText('claude');
+			const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
+			const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '');
+			const claudePath = config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude');
+			const wslCommand = this._buildWslClaudeCommand(nodePath, claudePath, args);
+			return {
+				shellPath: process.platform === 'win32' ? 'wsl.exe' : 'wsl',
+				shellArgs: ['-d', wslDistro, 'bash', '-ic', wslCommand]
+			};
 		}
+
+		const custom = (config.get<string>('executable.path', '') || '').trim();
+		return {
+			shellPath: custom || 'claude',
+			shellArgs: args
+		};
+	}
+
+	private _openLoginTerminal(): void {
+		const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
+			name: 'Claude Login',
+			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One },
+			...this._buildClaudeTerminalOptions()
+		});
 		terminal.show();
 	}

@@ -3703,12 +3758,6 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			return;
 		}

-		const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('claudeCodeChat');
-		const wslEnabled = config.get<boolean>('wsl.enabled', false);
-		const wslDistro = config.get<string>('wsl.distro', 'Ubuntu');
-		const nodePath = config.get<string>('wsl.nodePath', '/usr/bin/node');
-		const claudePath = config.get<string>('wsl.claudePath', '/usr/local/bin/claude');
-
 		// Build command arguments
 		const args = [`/${command}`];

@@ -3717,16 +3766,12 @@ class ClaudeChatProvider {
 			args.push('--resume', this._currentSessionId);
 		}

-		// Create terminal with the claude command
+		// Launch claude as the terminal process directly — no shell quoting
 		const terminal = vscode.window.createTerminal({
 			name: `Claude /${command}`,
-			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One }
+			location: { viewColumn: vscode.ViewColumn.One },
+			...this._buildClaudeTerminalOptions(args)
 		});
-		if (wslEnabled) {
-			terminal.sendText(`wsl -d ${wslDistro} ${nodePath} --no-warnings --enable-source-maps ${claudePath} ${args.join(' ')}`);
-		} else {
-			terminal.sendText(`claude ${args.join(' ')}`);
-		}
 		terminal.show();

 		// Show info message
--- a/src/script.ts
+++ b/src/script.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 		let selectedFileIndex = -1;
 		let planModeEnabled = false;
 		let thinkingModeEnabled = false;
+		let isWindows = false;
 		let lastPendingEditIndex = -1; // Track the last Edit/MultiEdit/Write toolUse without result
 		let lastPendingEditData = null; // Store diff data for the pending edit { filePath, oldContent, newContent }
 		let attachedImages = []; // Array of { filePath, previewUri }
@@ -2800,7 +2801,7 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 		}

 		// Install modal functions
-		function showInstallModal() {
+		function showInstallModal(installAttempted) {
 			const modal = document.getElementById('installModal');
 			const main = document.getElementById('installMain');
 			const progress = document.getElementById('installProgress');
@@ -2813,7 +2814,30 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 			if (success) success.style.display = 'none';
 			if (checkout) checkout.style.display = 'none';

-			sendStats('Install modal shown');
+			// Show "Didn't work? Try with npm" only if user already attempted install once
+			var retryOptions = document.getElementById('installRetryOptions');
+			if (retryOptions) retryOptions.style.display = installAttempted ? 'block' : 'none';
+
+			// Show sudo checkbox only on macOS/Linux
+			var sudoLabel = document.getElementById('installSudoLabel');
+			if (sudoLabel) sudoLabel.style.display = (installAttempted && !isWindows) ? 'inline-block' : 'none';
+
+			sendStats('Install modal shown', installAttempted ? { retryShown: true } : undefined);
+		}
+
+		function startInstallationWithSudo() {
+			var useSudo = document.getElementById('installUseSudo') && document.getElementById('installUseSudo').checked;
+			if (useSudo) {
+				sendStats('Install started', { method: 'npm-sudo' });
+				vscode.postMessage({
+					type: 'runTerminalCommand',
+					command: 'sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code'
+				});
+				// Close the modal — user will complete install in terminal
+				hideInstallModal();
+			} else {
+				startInstallation('npm');
+			}
 		}

 		function showLoginOptionsModal() {
@@ -2839,6 +2863,10 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 			if (checkout) checkout.style.display = 'none';
 			if (funds) funds.style.display = 'none';

+			// Hide OpenCredits option if feature flag is disabled
+			var ocOption = document.getElementById('installOpenCreditsOption');
+			if (ocOption) ocOption.style.display = opencreditsEnabled ? '' : 'none';
+
 			sendStats('Login options shown');
 		}

@@ -2853,8 +2881,8 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 			}
 		}

-		function startInstallation() {
-			sendStats('Install started');
+		function startInstallation(method) {
+			sendStats('Install started', { method: method || 'installer' });

 			// Hide main content, show progress
 			document.getElementById('installMain').style.display = 'none';
@@ -2862,20 +2890,39 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt

 			// Extension handles platform detection and command selection
 			vscode.postMessage({
-				type: 'runInstallCommand'
+				type: 'runInstallCommand',
+				method: method || 'installer'
 			});
 		}

-		function handleInstallComplete(success, error) {
+		function handleInstallComplete(success, error, extra) {
 			document.getElementById('installProgress').style.display = 'none';

 			const successEl = document.getElementById('installSuccess');
 			successEl.style.display = 'flex';

+			// Hide OpenCredits option if feature flag is disabled
+			const ocOption = document.getElementById('installOpenCreditsOption');
+			if (ocOption) ocOption.style.display = opencreditsEnabled ? '' : 'none';
+
 			if (success) {
-				sendStats('Install success');
-				successEl.querySelector('.install-success-text').textContent = 'Installed';
-				successEl.querySelector('.install-success-hint').textContent = 'Send a message to get started';
+				if (extra && extra.configuredPath) {
+					sendStats('Install auto configured path', { existingPathRespected: !!extra.existingPathRespected });
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-text').textContent = 'Installed';
+					const hint = extra.existingPathRespected
+						? 'Claude was installed but not on your PATH. Your existing executable.path setting was left unchanged.'
+						: 'Configured automatically. Send a message to get started.';
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-hint').textContent = hint;
+				} else if (extra && extra.notOnPath) {
+					sendStats('Install location not found');
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-text').textContent = 'Installed';
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-hint').textContent =
+						'Claude was installed but could not be located. Set claudeCodeChat.executable.path manually to your claude binary.';
+				} else {
+					sendStats('Install success');
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-text').textContent = 'Installed';
+					successEl.querySelector('.install-success-hint').textContent = 'Send a message to get started';
+				}
 			} else {
 				sendStats('Install failed', { error: (error || 'Unknown error').substring(0, 200) });
 				// Show error state
@@ -3694,12 +3741,17 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt

 				case 'showInstallModal':
 					sendStats('Claude not installed');
-					showInstallModal();
+					showInstallModal(message.installAttempted);
 					updateStatus('Claude Code not installed', 'error');
 					break;

 				case 'installComplete':
-					handleInstallComplete(message.success, message.error);
+					handleInstallComplete(message.success, message.error, {
+						configuredPath: message.configuredPath,
+						notOnPath: message.notOnPath,
+						installLocation: message.installLocation,
+						existingPathRespected: message.existingPathRespected
+					});
 					if (message.success) {
 						updateStatus('Ready', 'success');
 					}
@@ -4781,7 +4833,7 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 				settings: {
 					'wsl.enabled': wslEnabled,
 					'wsl.distro': wslDistro || 'Ubuntu',
-					'wsl.nodePath': wslNodePath || '/usr/bin/node',
+					'wsl.nodePath': wslNodePath,
 					'wsl.claudePath': wslClaudePath || '/usr/local/bin/claude',
 					'permissions.yoloMode': yoloMode,
 					'executable.path': executablePath,
@@ -5059,7 +5111,7 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 				
 				document.getElementById('wsl-enabled').checked = message.data['wsl.enabled'] || false;
 				document.getElementById('wsl-distro').value = message.data['wsl.distro'] || 'Ubuntu';
-				document.getElementById('wsl-node-path').value = message.data['wsl.nodePath'] || '/usr/bin/node';
+				document.getElementById('wsl-node-path').value = message.data['wsl.nodePath'] ?? '';
 				document.getElementById('wsl-claude-path').value = message.data['wsl.claudePath'] || '/usr/local/bin/claude';
 				document.getElementById('yolo-mode').checked = message.data['permissions.yoloMode'] || false;
 				
@@ -5220,6 +5272,7 @@ const getScript = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'htt
 			}

 			if (message.type === 'platformInfo') {
+				isWindows = !!message.data.isWindows;
 				// Check if user is on Windows and show WSL alert if not dismissed and WSL not already enabled
 				if (message.data.isWindows && !message.data.wslAlertDismissed && !message.data.wslEnabled) {
 					// Small delay to ensure UI is ready
--- a/src/ui.ts
+++ b/src/ui.ts
@@ -307,14 +307,6 @@ const getHtml = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'https
 							<input type="text" id="wsl-distro" class="file-search-input" style="width: 100%;" placeholder="Ubuntu" onchange="updateSettings()">
 						</div>
 						
-						<div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">
-							<label style="display: block; margin-bottom: 4px; font-size: 12px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground);">Node.js Path in WSL</label>
-							<input type="text" id="wsl-node-path" class="file-search-input" style="width: 100%;" placeholder="/usr/bin/node" onchange="updateSettings()">
-							<p style="font-size: 11px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground); margin: 4px 0 0 0;">
-								Find your node installation path in WSL by running: <code style="background: var(--vscode-textCodeBlock-background); padding: 2px 4px; border-radius: 3px;">which node</code>
-							</p>
-						</div>
-						
 						<div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">
 							<label style="display: block; margin-bottom: 4px; font-size: 12px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground);">Claude Path in WSL</label>
 							<input type="text" id="wsl-claude-path" class="file-search-input" style="width: 100%;" placeholder="/usr/local/bin/claude" onchange="updateSettings()">
@@ -322,6 +314,14 @@ const getHtml = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'https
 								Find your claude installation path in WSL by running: <code style="background: var(--vscode-textCodeBlock-background); padding: 2px 4px; border-radius: 3px;">which claude</code>
 							</p>
 						</div>
+
+						<div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">
+							<label style="display: block; margin-bottom: 4px; font-size: 12px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground);">Node.js Path in WSL (Optional)</label>
+							<input type="text" id="wsl-node-path" class="file-search-input" style="width: 100%;" placeholder="/usr/bin/node" onchange="updateSettings()">
+							<p style="font-size: 11px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground); margin: 4px 0 0 0;">
+								Optional. Only needed if you previously installed Claude via npm. Recent Claude installs ship as a native executable and don't need Node. Set it by running: <code style="background: var(--vscode-textCodeBlock-background); padding: 2px 4px; border-radius: 3px;">which node</code>
+							</p>
+						</div>
 					</div>
 				</div>

@@ -583,6 +583,15 @@ const getHtml = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'https
 						Install Now
 					</button>

+					<div id="installRetryOptions" style="display: none; margin-top: 8px;">
+						<button class="install-link" id="installRetryNpmBtn" onclick="startInstallationWithSudo()" style="background: none; border: none; color: var(--vscode-textLink-foreground); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; padding: 4px;">
+							Didn't work? Try with npm
+						</button>
+						<label id="installSudoLabel" style="display: none; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 11px; color: var(--vscode-descriptionForeground); cursor: pointer;">
+							<input type="checkbox" id="installUseSudo" style="vertical-align: middle;"> Use sudo
+						</label>
+					</div>
+
 					<a href="https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code" target="_blank" class="install-link">
 						View documentation
 					</a>
@@ -608,7 +617,7 @@ const getHtml = (isTelemetryEnabled: boolean, opencreditsApiUrl: string = 'https
 							<span class="install-option-title">I have a plan</span>
 							<span class="install-option-desc">Login with Anthropic · Pro, Max, or API key</span>
 						</button>
-						<button class="install-option install-option-secondary" onclick="showFundsSelection()">
+						<button class="install-option install-option-secondary" id="installOpenCreditsOption" onclick="showFundsSelection()">
 							<span class="install-option-title">Just try it</span>
 							<span class="install-option-desc">No account needed · Pay as you go with OpenCredits</span>
 						</button>