Path Troubleshooting

A codewhale or deepseek command-not-found error usually means install ownership and shell path do not agree yet

After the DeepSeek TUI rename, many users search for either the new `codewhale` command or the older deepseek shim when command-not-found errors appear. The generic failure almost never means the app logic is broken. It usually means the install completed in one ecosystem, while your current shell still resolves commands through another path or an older terminal profile.

Site detail pageCodeWhale or DeepSeek Command Not FoundTroubleshooting

Questions this page should answer fast

Which installer actually owns the current binary?
Does the shell you are testing in read the right PATH entries?
Are you debugging a missing binary or only a missing shell exposure problem?

What this page should help you decide

This page should help the reader distinguish between package-manager ownership, shell path visibility, and stale terminal-session state.

Fast diagnosis

Install owner

Work out whether npm, cargo, Homebrew, or a release binary is supposed to own the command.

Shell visibility

Check whether the directory that should contain `codewhale` is actually exported in the shell profile you are using now.

Session freshness

Some path fixes only appear after a new shell or a full terminal restart, so confirm whether you are testing in a stale session.

Step-by-step workflow

Identify the install route first
Do not start from random fixes. Start from the package path that should own the binary.
Check the active shell path
Inspect the current shell and verify whether that binary directory is present and ordered correctly.
Retest in a fresh shell
If you only tested in the installation shell, you may be reading a temporary environment that vanishes later.
Escalate to route-specific troubleshooting
If the generic path checks fail, move into the npm, cargo, Homebrew, or release-binary variant that matches your install route.

Common mistakes

Reinstalling before you know which package path is supposed to own the command.
Testing in one shell and assuming every terminal profile now sees the same PATH.
Debugging provider auth before the command itself resolves cleanly.

When to leave this page

Leave this page once you know which install route owns the binary and whether the shell path mismatch is generic or route-specific.

Use-it-now examples

Start from working examples first, then adjust the details.

Check owner and visible path together

A command-not-found fix starts by checking which install route should own the binary and whether the shell can actually see that path.

command -v codewhale || which codewhale
codewhale --version

Retest in a fresh shell after any path change

A temporary shell success is not enough. Reopen the terminal and repeat the narrowest resolution checks.

command -v codewhale || which codewhale
# reopen shell and repeat

Common failure branches

Work out which layer failed first instead of treating every problem as the same.

The install succeeded but the command is still missing

That usually means the shell exposure is wrong, not that the package failed to install.

One shell finds the command and another does not

That is a shell-profile or PATH-boundary problem. Compare startup files before reinstalling anything.