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Run /doctor to Validate Your Claude Code Environment

recombobulate @recombobulate · Mar 25, 2026 · Debugging
run-doctor-to-validate-your-claude-code-environment

Something's not working right, but you're not sure if it's your prompt, your code, or your setup. /doctor cuts through the guesswork and checks your Claude Code environment in one shot.

/doctor

It validates your API key, checks that the selected model is accessible, confirms tool availability, and surfaces any configuration issues — all at once.

It's the first thing to run when Claude starts behaving unexpectedly, especially after:

  • Updating Claude Code to a new version
  • Rotating or changing your API key
  • Switching machines or dev containers
  • Modifying your config files
# You can also run it without entering interactive mode
claude /doctor

The output will tell you exactly what's wrong — whether it's an expired API key, a missing model permission, or a misconfigured tool. Most setup issues have a clear fix once you know which layer is broken.

Before spending 20 minutes debugging your prompt, spend 5 seconds debugging your environment.

Run /doctor before blaming your prompt — it might just be a stale API key.

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