Claude Code extension times out on startup in VS Code (subprocess initialization)

[katoch-rahul]

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?

Issue

VS Code extension times out during startup with:

What Should Happen?

it should work

Error Messages/Logs

Error: Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms — check authentication and network connectivity

Steps to Reproduce

Works Fine

• Claude in terminal ✓
• Claude in VS Code terminal ✓
• Claude Code desktop app ✓

Broken

• Claude Code VS Code extension ✗

Troubleshooting Done

• Cleared cache (~/.claude/cache, ~/.claude.json)
• Restarted VS Code multiple times
• Disabled all extensions
• Reinstalled Claude Code extension
• Removed conflicting openclaudeCode settings
• Tested in different directories

System Info

• OS: Windows 11 (10.0.26200)
• Extension: anthropic.claude-code-2.1.114-win32-x64
• Python: 3.14

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.1.100

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

No response

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Subprocess initialization did not complete within 60000ms on Windows — regression from 2.1.114 #50559
2. [BUG] VS Code extension: startup() handshake timed out 30000ms despite CLI working (v2.1.101 Windows) #46647
3. 2.1.9 breaks SDK subprocess initialization - 'Control request timeout: initialize' #18667

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[0xbrainkid]

This sounds like the same general failure class as other recent extension issues: the core Claude runtime may be fine, but the editor bridge cannot complete its startup/handshake path within the timeout budget.

The current error message is not very actionable because "check authentication and network connectivity" bundles together too many possible causes:

• subprocess spawn/init failure
• auth/session problem
• IPC handshake failure
• extension-side startup regression
• actual network issue

When everything is compressed into one 60000ms timeout, users cannot tell whether they should re-login, inspect logs, or just abandon the extension and use the CLI.

So the product issue is not only the timeout itself. It is the lack of stage-specific startup diagnostics. If the extension knows which phase failed, it should surface that explicitly rather than returning a generic umbrella message after 60 seconds of dead air.

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.