Authentication changedauthentication
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Upstream edited this page at 22 Oct 2026 00:33 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 22 Oct 2026 00:37 UTC.
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### Login prompt still appears after an earlier sign-in
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77## Log in to Claude Code
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9After [installing Claude Code](/docs/en/setup#install-claude-code), run `claude` in your terminal. On first launch, Claude Code opens a browser window for you to log in. If you've set the `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable and you approve the key when Claude Code asks whether to use it, Claude Code skips the login prompt.
9After [installing Claude Code](/docs/en/setup#install-claude-code), run `claude` in your terminal. Claude Code opens a browser window for you to log in on first launch, except in cases such as these, where it can skip the login prompt:
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11* **API key**: you've set the `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable and you approve the key when Claude Code asks whether to use it
12* **Earlier sign-in**: you ran [`claude auth login`](/docs/en/cli-reference#cli-commands) in your shell before your first session, or you rebuilt a dev container that keeps your credentials in a [volume](/docs/en/devcontainer#persist-authentication-and-settings-across-rebuilds). If you see the login prompt anyway, [check what can cause it](#login-prompt-still-appears-after-an-earlier-sign-in).
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1114If the browser doesn't open automatically, press `c` to copy the login URL to your clipboard, then paste it into your browser.
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1316If your browser shows a login code instead of redirecting back after you sign in, paste it into the terminal at the `Paste code here if prompted` prompt. This happens when the browser can't reach Claude Code's local callback server, which is common in WSL2, SSH sessions, and containers.
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2730To log out and re-authenticate, type `/logout` at the Claude Code prompt. Logging out also resets your first-launch setup state, so the next time you run `claude` it walks you through login and setup again.
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2932If you're having trouble logging in, see [authentication troubleshooting](/docs/en/troubleshoot-install#login-and-authentication).
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34### Login prompt still appears after an earlier sign-in
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36If you signed in earlier and first-launch setup shows the login prompt instead of [skipping it](#log-in-to-claude-code), check for causes such as these:
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38* **Expired sign-in**: your earlier sign-in expired and Claude Code can't refresh it. Log in again at the prompt.
39* **Login restricted to an organization**: an administrator set [`forceLoginOrgUUID`](/docs/en/settings-reference#forceloginorguuid) in managed settings to [require logins from specific organizations](#restrict-login-to-your-organization). The prompt appears whether or not your account belongs to one of them. Log in with an account in a required organization. If you don't have one, ask your administrator to add you.
40* **Required login method**: your sign-in isn't the kind that [`forceLoginMethod`](/docs/en/settings-reference#forceloginmethod) in a settings file requires. With `"claudeai"`, an API key from an earlier Claude Console login doesn't count as an existing sign-in. With `"console"`, a claude.ai account doesn't. Log in with the kind of account that setting names.
41* **Older version**: before v2.1.290, the prompt appeared during setup whether or not you were signed in. [Update Claude Code](/docs/en/setup#update-claude-code) to skip it.
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3143### Log in with multiple accounts
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