How to Fix the “Another Process is Currently Updating Claude” Error in Claude Code

By / December 20, 2025

If you are a power user of Claude Code, Anthropic’s terminal-based AI assistant, you’ve likely grown to love its speed and efficiency. However, a common technical hurdle is currently frustrating developers on macOS: the persistent “Another process is currently updating Claude” error.

This issue can effectively lock you out of the latest features and security patches. Here is everything you need to know about why this happens and how to fix it manually.


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The Problem: The Stale Lock File Bug

When you run the command claude update, the tool initiates a safety check to ensure two instances of Claude aren’t trying to modify the same files simultaneously. It does this by creating a “lock file.”

The bug occurs when the update process fails to clean up this lock file after a previous session. Because the file remains in your system directory, Claude Code “thinks” an update is still in progress, even if you just restarted your computer.

Common Error Message:

Checking for updates…

Another process is currently updating Claude. Please try again in a moment.

Why Does This Happen?

According to technical logs, this is often a NON-FATAL Lock acquisition failure. It is particularly prevalent on macOS (Darwin) systems and can be triggered if:

  • A previous update was interrupted (e.g., terminal closed unexpectedly).
  • The VS Code extension and the CLI are competing for resources.
  • Permissions issues prevent the automated cleanup of the .local directory.

The Solution: How to Manually Clear the Lock

Until a permanent patch is released by the Anthropic team, the fix requires a quick trip to your terminal to delete the “stale” files manually.

Step 1: Locate the Locks Directory

The lock files are stored in your user’s local state folder. Open your terminal and navigate to:

~/.local/state/claude/locks

Step 2: Delete the Stale Files

You can clear the lock by running the following command:

rm -rf ~/.local/state/claude/locks/*

Step 3: Re-run the Update

Once the directory is empty, you can safely run the update command again:

claude update

Pro-Tip for VS Code Users

If you use the Claude Dev or Claude Engineer extensions alongside the CLI, ensure you close your IDE before running a CLI update. This reduces the “multi-process scenarios” that often lead to lock acquisition errors.

Final Thoughts on Claude Code Stability

As an early-stage tool, Claude Code is evolving rapidly. While packaging and update bugs like Issue #13705 are frustrating, the community-driven fixes are helping refine the tool into a robust developer companion.

Are you still seeing “Lock acquisition failed” errors? Make sure you are running the latest version of the tool by performing a clean install via npm if the built-in update fails:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

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