claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Claude Code Unusable on Windows (Max Subscription) [1 participants]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

I am writing as a paying Claude Max subscriber to formally report that Claude Code has been completely unusable on my Windows machine for an extended period, and to request either an immediate fix or a refund of my subscription. My Situation

Subscription tier: Claude Max (paid) Operating system: Windows 11 Use case: Professional BIOS development workflows (CICD pipelines, multi-project codebase management) Total time spent troubleshooting today: Over 3 hours

The Problem Both the Claude Code VS Code extension and the Claude Code CLI fail to initialize on my machine. Specifically:

VS Code extension: Throws Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms — check authentication and network connectivity after every attempt to send a message. PowerShell CLI: claude --version works (returns 2.1.113), but claude enters interactive mode then silently exits, and claude --print "hello" hangs indefinitely with no response.

This Is a Known Regression You Have Not Fixed This is not a configuration issue on my end. It is a regression in Claude Code starting from version 2.1.114 (released around April 18, 2026), affecting Windows users. Public GitHub issues confirming this:

Issue #50559: [BUG] Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms on Windows — regression from 2.1.114 (opened April 18, 2026) Issue #50988: Claude Code extension times out on startup in VS Code (subprocess initialization) Issue #51732: VS Code extension 2.1.116 'Query closed before response received' on Windows 11 Issue #208 (claude-agent-sdk-python): ClaudeSDKClient hangs on Windows during initialization

These issues have been open for over two weeks with no fix shipped. Multiple users have reported the same symptoms across versions 2.1.114 through 2.1.123, and the current 2.1.126 still has the same problem. What I Have Already Tried In good faith, I have spent significant time troubleshooting on my end before contacting you:

Cleared %USERPROFILE%.claude cache and credentials Reinstalled Claude Code via npm — npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code Removed conflicting native installer at %USERPROFILE%.local\bin\claude.exe Downgraded both the CLI and VS Code extension to 2.1.113 Manually downloaded the .vsix file and installed it via code --install-extension Discovered the .vsix shipped without a Windows-compatible binary in resources/native-binary/, and manually copied a working claude.exe into the extension folder Disabled extension auto-update to prevent regression Replaced the binary with the freshly downloaded npm version Configured claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting Tested stdio handshake manually — confirmed the binary responds correctly to direct testing but fails when launched by the extension's stream-json protocol on Windows

After all of this, the product still does not work. My Requests Given that I am paying for the Max tier and cannot use a flagship product feature for two weeks, I am requesting one of the following:

An ETA for a Windows fix. If Anthropic is actively working on this, please provide a clear timeline. A confirmed workaround. If a workaround exists that is not yet publicly documented, please share it. A refund for the period during which Claude Code has been unusable on my Windows machine.

I want to make clear that the issue is not with Anthropic's models or the web interface (claude.ai works fine on my Max subscription). The issue is specifically with Claude Code on Windows, which is a product I rely on for my work and which has been broken since I auto-updated. I would appreciate a substantive response, not a generic acknowledgment. If this is not resolved promptly, I will be canceling my subscription and seeking a refund through my payment provider. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Email] [Your Anthropic Account Email, if different]

Attachments / References:

GitHub Issue #50559: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50559 GitHub Issue #50988: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50988 GitHub Issue #51732: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/51732 GitHub Issue #208 (SDK): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-python/issues/208

What Should Happen?

I am writing as a paying Claude Max subscriber to formally report that Claude Code has been completely unusable on my Windows machine for an extended period, and to request either an immediate fix or a refund of my subscription. My Situation

Subscription tier: Claude Max (paid) Operating system: Windows 11 Use case: Professional BIOS development workflows (CICD pipelines, multi-project codebase management) Total time spent troubleshooting today: Over 3 hours

The Problem Both the Claude Code VS Code extension and the Claude Code CLI fail to initialize on my machine. Specifically:

VS Code extension: Throws Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms — check authentication and network connectivity after every attempt to send a message. PowerShell CLI: claude --version works (returns 2.1.113), but claude enters interactive mode then silently exits, and claude --print "hello" hangs indefinitely with no response.

This Is a Known Regression You Have Not Fixed This is not a configuration issue on my end. It is a regression in Claude Code starting from version 2.1.114 (released around April 18, 2026), affecting Windows users. Public GitHub issues confirming this:

Issue #50559: [BUG] Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms on Windows — regression from 2.1.114 (opened April 18, 2026) Issue #50988: Claude Code extension times out on startup in VS Code (subprocess initialization) Issue #51732: VS Code extension 2.1.116 'Query closed before response received' on Windows 11 Issue #208 (claude-agent-sdk-python): ClaudeSDKClient hangs on Windows during initialization

These issues have been open for over two weeks with no fix shipped. Multiple users have reported the same symptoms across versions 2.1.114 through 2.1.123, and the current 2.1.126 still has the same problem. What I Have Already Tried In good faith, I have spent significant time troubleshooting on my end before contacting you:

Cleared %USERPROFILE%.claude cache and credentials Reinstalled Claude Code via npm — npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code Removed conflicting native installer at %USERPROFILE%.local\bin\claude.exe Downgraded both the CLI and VS Code extension to 2.1.113 Manually downloaded the .vsix file and installed it via code --install-extension Discovered the .vsix shipped without a Windows-compatible binary in resources/native-binary/, and manually copied a working claude.exe into the extension folder Disabled extension auto-update to prevent regression Replaced the binary with the freshly downloaded npm version Configured claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting Tested stdio handshake manually — confirmed the binary responds correctly to direct testing but fails when launched by the extension's stream-json protocol on Windows

After all of this, the product still does not work. My Requests Given that I am paying for the Max tier and cannot use a flagship product feature for two weeks, I am requesting one of the following:

An ETA for a Windows fix. If Anthropic is actively working on this, please provide a clear timeline. A confirmed workaround. If a workaround exists that is not yet publicly documented, please share it. A refund for the period during which Claude Code has been unusable on my Windows machine.

I want to make clear that the issue is not with Anthropic's models or the web interface (claude.ai works fine on my Max subscription). The issue is specifically with Claude Code on Windows, which is a product I rely on for my work and which has been broken since I auto-updated. I would appreciate a substantive response, not a generic acknowledgment. If this is not resolved promptly, I will be canceling my subscription and seeking a refund through my payment provider. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Email] [Your Anthropic Account Email, if different]

Attachments / References:

GitHub Issue #50559: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50559 GitHub Issue #50988: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50988 GitHub Issue #51732: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/51732 GitHub Issue #208 (SDK): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-python/issues/208

Error Messages/Logs

I am writing as a paying Claude Max subscriber to formally report that Claude Code has been completely unusable on my Windows machine for an extended period, and to request either an immediate fix or a refund of my subscription.
My Situation

Subscription tier: Claude Max (paid)
Operating system: Windows 11
Use case: Professional BIOS development workflows (CICD pipelines, multi-project codebase management)
Total time spent troubleshooting today: Over 3 hours

The Problem
Both the Claude Code VS Code extension and the Claude Code CLI fail to initialize on my machine. Specifically:

VS Code extension: Throws Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms — check authentication and network connectivity after every attempt to send a message.
PowerShell CLI: claude --version works (returns 2.1.113), but claude enters interactive mode then silently exits, and claude --print "hello" hangs indefinitely with no response.

This Is a Known Regression You Have Not Fixed
This is not a configuration issue on my end. It is a regression in Claude Code starting from version 2.1.114 (released around April 18, 2026), affecting Windows users.
Public GitHub issues confirming this:

Issue #50559: [BUG] Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms on Windows — regression from 2.1.114 (opened April 18, 2026)
Issue #50988: Claude Code extension times out on startup in VS Code (subprocess initialization)
Issue #51732: VS Code extension 2.1.116 'Query closed before response received' on Windows 11
Issue #208 (claude-agent-sdk-python): ClaudeSDKClient hangs on Windows during initialization

These issues have been open for over two weeks with no fix shipped. Multiple users have reported the same symptoms across versions 2.1.114 through 2.1.123, and the current 2.1.126 still has the same problem.
What I Have Already Tried
In good faith, I have spent significant time troubleshooting on my end before contacting you:

Cleared %USERPROFILE%\.claude cache and credentials
Reinstalled Claude Code via npm — npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Removed conflicting native installer at %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe
Downgraded both the CLI and VS Code extension to 2.1.113
Manually downloaded the .vsix file and installed it via code --install-extension
Discovered the .vsix shipped without a Windows-compatible binary in resources/native-binary/, and manually copied a working claude.exe into the extension folder
Disabled extension auto-update to prevent regression
Replaced the binary with the freshly downloaded npm version
Configured claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting
Tested stdio handshake manually — confirmed the binary responds correctly to direct testing but fails when launched by the extension's stream-json protocol on Windows

After all of this, the product still does not work.
My Requests
Given that I am paying for the Max tier and cannot use a flagship product feature for two weeks, I am requesting one of the following:

An ETA for a Windows fix. If Anthropic is actively working on this, please provide a clear timeline.
A confirmed workaround. If a workaround exists that is not yet publicly documented, please share it.
A refund for the period during which Claude Code has been unusable on my Windows machine.

I want to make clear that the issue is not with Anthropic's models or the web interface (claude.ai works fine on my Max subscription). The issue is specifically with Claude Code on Windows, which is a product I rely on for my work and which has been broken since I auto-updated.
I would appreciate a substantive response, not a generic acknowledgment. If this is not resolved promptly, I will be canceling my subscription and seeking a refund through my payment provider.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Email]
[Your Anthropic Account Email, if different]

Attachments / References:

GitHub Issue #50559: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50559
GitHub Issue #50988: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50988
GitHub Issue #51732: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/51732
GitHub Issue #208 (SDK): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-python/issues/208

Steps to Reproduce

I am writing as a paying Claude Max subscriber to formally report that Claude Code has been completely unusable on my Windows machine for an extended period, and to request either an immediate fix or a refund of my subscription. My Situation

Subscription tier: Claude Max (paid) Operating system: Windows 11 Use case: Professional BIOS development workflows (CICD pipelines, multi-project codebase management) Total time spent troubleshooting today: Over 3 hours

The Problem Both the Claude Code VS Code extension and the Claude Code CLI fail to initialize on my machine. Specifically:

VS Code extension: Throws Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms — check authentication and network connectivity after every attempt to send a message. PowerShell CLI: claude --version works (returns 2.1.113), but claude enters interactive mode then silently exits, and claude --print "hello" hangs indefinitely with no response.

This Is a Known Regression You Have Not Fixed This is not a configuration issue on my end. It is a regression in Claude Code starting from version 2.1.114 (released around April 18, 2026), affecting Windows users. Public GitHub issues confirming this:

Issue #50559: [BUG] Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms on Windows — regression from 2.1.114 (opened April 18, 2026) Issue #50988: Claude Code extension times out on startup in VS Code (subprocess initialization) Issue #51732: VS Code extension 2.1.116 'Query closed before response received' on Windows 11 Issue #208 (claude-agent-sdk-python): ClaudeSDKClient hangs on Windows during initialization

These issues have been open for over two weeks with no fix shipped. Multiple users have reported the same symptoms across versions 2.1.114 through 2.1.123, and the current 2.1.126 still has the same problem. What I Have Already Tried In good faith, I have spent significant time troubleshooting on my end before contacting you:

Cleared %USERPROFILE%.claude cache and credentials Reinstalled Claude Code via npm — npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code Removed conflicting native installer at %USERPROFILE%.local\bin\claude.exe Downgraded both the CLI and VS Code extension to 2.1.113 Manually downloaded the .vsix file and installed it via code --install-extension Discovered the .vsix shipped without a Windows-compatible binary in resources/native-binary/, and manually copied a working claude.exe into the extension folder Disabled extension auto-update to prevent regression Replaced the binary with the freshly downloaded npm version Configured claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting Tested stdio handshake manually — confirmed the binary responds correctly to direct testing but fails when launched by the extension's stream-json protocol on Windows

After all of this, the product still does not work. My Requests Given that I am paying for the Max tier and cannot use a flagship product feature for two weeks, I am requesting one of the following:

An ETA for a Windows fix. If Anthropic is actively working on this, please provide a clear timeline. A confirmed workaround. If a workaround exists that is not yet publicly documented, please share it. A refund for the period during which Claude Code has been unusable on my Windows machine.

I want to make clear that the issue is not with Anthropic's models or the web interface (claude.ai works fine on my Max subscription). The issue is specifically with Claude Code on Windows, which is a product I rely on for my work and which has been broken since I auto-updated. I would appreciate a substantive response, not a generic acknowledgment. If this is not resolved promptly, I will be canceling my subscription and seeking a refund through my payment provider. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Email] [Your Anthropic Account Email, if different]

Attachments / References:

GitHub Issue #50559: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50559 GitHub Issue #50988: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/50988 GitHub Issue #51732: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/51732 GitHub Issue #208 (SDK): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-python/issues/208

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

1.0.123

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information