Running Notepad from within Warp on Windows corrupts Warp.

[ptsapralis]

Pre-submit Checks

• I have searched Warp bugs and there are no duplicates
• I have searched Warp known issues page and my issue is not there
• I have an issue with AI and have included the debugging ID (Optional, but helps expedite the AI quality fix). Debugging ID instructions
• I have technical issue and have included the logs (optional, but helps expedite the bug fix). Log instructions

Describe the bug

When running Notepad fro within Warp - for example:

notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Warp crashes (its window closes unexpectedly) 1-2 seconds after Notepad loads. After that, Warp can no longer be loaded from either the Start menu or the taskbar icon or File Explorer. I have ti manually uninstall Warp (from Control Panel -> Programs and Features) -> restart the laptop -> re-install / re-configure Warp.

To reproduce

Run:

notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

From within Warp.

Expected behavior

No response

Screenshots, videos, and logs

warp-logs.zip

Operating system (OS)

Windows

Operating system and version

Windows 11 Pro (build 26200.8328)

Shell Version

Power-Shell 7.6.1

Current Warp version

v0.2026.05.06.15.42.stable_03

Regression

No, this bug or issue has existed throughout my experience using Warp

Recent working Warp date

I have only used Warp on Windows for a few weeks - so, can't tell. This doesn't happen on my Mac.

Additional context

No response

Does this block you from using Warp daily?

No

Is this an issue only in Warp?

Yes, I confirmed that this only happens in Warp, not other terminals.

Warp Internal (ignore): linear-label:b9d78064-c89e-4973-b153-5178a31ee54e

None

[oz-for-oss]

@ptsapralis

Here's what I found while triaging this issue:

Thanks for including a minimal command, Windows/Warp versions, and logs. I did not find an existing duplicate for this exact Notepad/hosts-file crash pattern; this looks like a Windows-specific Warp crash from launching a GUI app out of the terminal.

I have a few follow-up questions before I can narrow this down:

1. Does Warp also crash if you run plain notepad or notepad $env:TEMP\warp-notepad-test.txt from the same PowerShell session?
2. After the crash, is any Warp process still visible in Task Manager, and does ending it allow Warp to launch again without uninstalling?

Reply in-thread with those details and the triage workflow will automatically re-evaluate the issue and update the diagnosis, labels, and next steps.

Maintainer details

I concluded that windows Warp crash when launching Notepad from PowerShell appears to be a unique Windows terminal/ConPTY crash with possible post-crash startup-loop behavior..

Triage summary

This is a Windows-only crash report triggered from the terminal surface: running notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts from PowerShell inside Warp launches Notepad, then Warp closes unexpectedly 1-2 seconds later. The reporter also says subsequent launches from Start, taskbar, or File Explorer fail until uninstall/restart/reinstall.

Initial routing

• Type: bug
• OS: Windows
• Area: shell/terminal, with possible UI framework/startup recovery involvement because the app crashes and then cannot relaunch normally
• Reproducibility: medium. The issue has a concrete command, exact OS/build, shell version, Warp version, Warp-only comparison, and logs attached, but it is currently a single environment-sensitive report and needs log/minidump confirmation.

Duplicate check

I enumerated open issues and checked recently closed issues plus targeted Notepad/hosts-file searches. I did not find two likely existing duplicates for this exact Notepad/hosts-file crash plus post-crash relaunch failure pattern.

Likely technical area

The most relevant implementation paths are Windows local PTY/ConPTY shell startup and teardown, PTY event-loop read/write handling, crash recovery, and Windows single-instance forwarding. The hosted shell is created with CreateProcessW and a ConPTY thread attribute in app/src/terminal/local_tty/windows/mod.rs; ConPTY function loading and lifecycle calls live in app/src/terminal/local_tty/windows/conpty_api.rs; event-loop termination on PTY read/write failures is in app/src/terminal/local_tty/event_loop.rs; relaunch behavior may involve app/src/crash_recovery.rs and app/src/app_services/windows/single_instance_manager.rs.

Follow-up needed

The remaining high-value distinction is whether the crash is caused by launching any GUI app from Warp's hosted PowerShell session, by Notepad specifically, by opening the protected hosts file, or by a stale Warp process/recovery state after the crash.

Question reasoning

1. Does Warp also crash if you run plain notepad or notepad $env:TEMP\warp-notepad-test.txt from the same PowerShell session? — This distinguishes a general GUI-app launch/ConPTY issue from a problem specific to opening the protected hosts file path.
2. After the crash, is any Warp process still visible in Task Manager, and does ending it allow Warp to launch again without uninstalling? — This helps separate a true corrupted install/state issue from a stale running process or single-instance forwarding problem after the crash.

This is my automated analysis and may be incorrect. A maintainer will verify the details.

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