Installation

claude-shim is a single self-contained binary. Pick whichever route fits.

From a release

Every release attaches prebuilt archives:

• Linux — claude-shim-<version>-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz (static, runs on any distro — glibc or musl);
• macOS — claude-shim-<version>-macos-universal.tar.gz (Apple Silicon + Intel).

ver=2026.7.0
base=https://github.com/petr-korobeinikov/claude-shim/releases/download
curl -fsSL "$base/v$ver/claude-shim-$ver-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz" | tar xz
./claude-shim --version

The macOS binary is not yet notarized — if you downloaded it through a browser, clear quarantine once with xattr -d com.apple.quarantine claude-shim.

Globally via mise

With mise you can install straight from the GitHub releases. mise selects the right asset for your platform and verifies its GitHub artifact attestations:

mise use -g github:petr-korobeinikov/claude-shim@latest
claude-shim --version

From crates.io

The crate is published to crates.io, so any Rust toolchain can fetch and build it:

cargo install claude-shim
claude-shim --version

This compiles from source — slower than the prebuilt archives above — and lands the binary in ~/.cargo/bin (already on your PATH if you use cargo).

From source

cargo build --release

The binary lands at ./target/release/claude-shim.

The claude shim

However you install it, the same binary doubles as the claude shim when invoked under that name. The shim symlink (<data dir>/claude-shim/shims/claude → claude-shim) is created automatically on every claude-shim run — no manual step, no separate binary to copy. Keep the real claude (npm, brew, nvm, …) reachable on PATH; the shim looks it up there, skipping its own directory.

Commands throughout this documentation call claude-shim directly, assuming it is on your PATH (it will be after a mise install, or once you drop the binary into a PATH directory). Otherwise substitute its full path.

Shell integration (zsh)

Installs a precmd hook that exports CLAUDE_SHIM_ACTIVE_PROFILE on every prompt. Required for both prompt-rendering paths in Prompt indicator.

Add to ~/.zshrc and re-source:

eval "$(claude-shim init zsh)"