diff --git a/Sources/CodexBarCore/PathEnvironment.swift b/Sources/CodexBarCore/PathEnvironment.swift
index ece93eda2..2706170b7 100644
--- a/Sources/CodexBarCore/PathEnvironment.swift
+++ b/Sources/CodexBarCore/PathEnvironment.swift
@@ -52,10 +52,22 @@ public enum BinaryLocator {
             loginPATH: loginPATH,
             commandV: commandV,
             aliasResolver: aliasResolver,
+            wellKnownPaths: self.claudeWellKnownPaths(home: home),
             fileManager: fileManager,
             home: home)
     }
 
+    /// Well-known installation paths for the Claude CLI binary.
+    /// Covers the macOS Terminal installer (cmux.app), ~/.claude/bin, and Homebrew.
+    static func claudeWellKnownPaths(home: String) -> [String] {
+        [
+            "/Applications/cmux.app/Contents/Resources/bin/claude",
+            "\(home)/.claude/bin/claude",
+            "/usr/local/bin/claude",
+            "/opt/homebrew/bin/claude",
+        ]
+    }
+
     public static func resolveCodexBinary(
         env: [String: String] = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment,
         loginPATH: [String]? = LoginShellPathCache.shared.current,
@@ -124,6 +136,7 @@ public enum BinaryLocator {
         loginPATH: [String]?,
         commandV: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager) -> String?,
         aliasResolver: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager, String) -> String?,
+        wellKnownPaths: [String] = [],
         fileManager: FileManager,
         home: String) -> String?
     {
@@ -164,7 +177,14 @@ public enum BinaryLocator {
             return aliasHit
         }
 
-        // 5) Minimal fallback
+        // 5) Well-known installation paths (e.g. cmux.app bundle, ~/.claude/bin)
+        // macOS apps launched from Finder may not inherit the user's shell PATH,
+        // so check common install locations that the shell-based lookups above may miss.
+        for candidate in wellKnownPaths where fileManager.isExecutableFile(atPath: candidate) {
+            return candidate
+        }
+
+        // 6) Minimal fallback
         let fallback = ["/usr/bin", "/bin", "/usr/sbin", "/sbin"]
         if let pathHit = self.find(name, in: fallback, fileManager: fileManager) {
             return pathHit
diff --git a/Tests/CodexBarTests/PathBuilderTests.swift b/Tests/CodexBarTests/PathBuilderTests.swift
index d40bc2345..b7787a3e7 100644
--- a/Tests/CodexBarTests/PathBuilderTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/CodexBarTests/PathBuilderTests.swift
@@ -210,6 +210,56 @@ struct PathBuilderTests {
         #expect(resolved == aliasPath)
     }
 
+    @Test
+    func `resolves claude from well-known cmux path when shell lookups fail`() {
+        let cmuxPath = "/Applications/cmux.app/Contents/Resources/bin/claude"
+        let fm = MockFileManager(executables: [cmuxPath])
+        let commandV: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager) -> String? = { _, _, _, _ in nil }
+        let aliasResolver: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager, String) -> String? = { _, _, _, _, _ in nil }
+
+        let resolved = BinaryLocator.resolveClaudeBinary(
+            env: ["SHELL": "/bin/zsh"],
+            loginPATH: nil,
+            commandV: commandV,
+            aliasResolver: aliasResolver,
+            fileManager: fm,
+            home: "/Users/test")
+        #expect(resolved == cmuxPath)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func `resolves claude from well-known home dir path`() {
+        let homePath = "/Users/test/.claude/bin/claude"
+        let fm = MockFileManager(executables: [homePath])
+        let commandV: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager) -> String? = { _, _, _, _ in nil }
+        let aliasResolver: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager, String) -> String? = { _, _, _, _, _ in nil }
+
+        let resolved = BinaryLocator.resolveClaudeBinary(
+            env: ["SHELL": "/bin/zsh"],
+            loginPATH: nil,
+            commandV: commandV,
+            aliasResolver: aliasResolver,
+            fileManager: fm,
+            home: "/Users/test")
+        #expect(resolved == homePath)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func `prefers shell PATH over well-known paths`() {
+        let shellPath = "/custom/bin/claude"
+        let cmuxPath = "/Applications/cmux.app/Contents/Resources/bin/claude"
+        let fm = MockFileManager(executables: [shellPath, cmuxPath])
+        let commandV: (String, String?, TimeInterval, FileManager) -> String? = { _, _, _, _ in shellPath }
+
+        let resolved = BinaryLocator.resolveClaudeBinary(
+            env: ["SHELL": "/bin/zsh"],
+            loginPATH: nil,
+            commandV: commandV,
+            fileManager: fm,
+            home: "/Users/test")
+        #expect(resolved == shellPath)
+    }
+
     @Test
     func `skips alias when command V resolves`() {
         let path = "/shell/bin/claude"