Usage 0.29.6: Windows status line no longer stays blank forever

Release notes

BUGFIX

Windows status line no longer stays blank forever

On a Windows PC without Python, the Claude Code panel will no longer show -- forever. The installer used to trust any python or py found on PATH (the list of places Windows searches for programs) without checking whether it could run. Windows 10 and 11 ship an App Execution Alias: a placeholder python.exe that only sends you to Microsoft Store, yet it was mistaken for Python. The statusLine hook, a small program that updates the bottom status line, then failed silently on every refresh, so usage-status.json was never written. Now each candidate must pass --version first. It is like testing an outlet before plugging in the appliance.

Original changelog

Original changelogWindows status line no longer stays blank forever

**Claude Code panel no longer stays blank forever on Windows**: the installer picked whichever `python`/`py` `shutil.which()` found on `PATH` without checking it actually ran, so on any Windows machine without a real Python install, it silently wired the statusLine hook to Windows' non-functional "App Execution Alias" stub (the placeholder `python.exe`/`python3.exe` that Windows 10/11 ships by default to prompt a Microsoft Store install). The hook then failed silently on every refresh, `usage-status.json` was never written, and the Claude Code panel showed `--` permanently — not a first-run loading state. The installer now actually runs each candidate with `--version` before trusting it, and skips any that don't execute.