EBUSY: resource busy or locked — page 2
Another process holds the file or device Claude Code needs.
127 issues · 18 open · 109 resolved (86%) · first seen Aug 26, 2025
First response · local
What to do now
Most likely: The operating system rejected a file or directory operation.
- Read the first path in the error and verify that it exists and belongs to the expected user.
- Check disk space, permissions, symlinks and whether another process holds the target.
- Reproduce with the smallest affected path before changing project-wide permissions.
These are conservative triage steps, not an official Anthropic fix. Use the issue and workaround evidence below before making a destructive configuration change.
Is this getting better or worse?
This class of problem is converging. 37 new reports in the last 90 days vs 52 in the 90 before — -29%. The open backlog peaked at 19 in 2026-07 and sits at 18 today.
Derived by counting each matching issue from its creation date until it closed. First-party
computation over the anthropics/claude-code tracker — the trend is not published
anywhere upstream.
Which builds report this
67 of these reports name the Claude Code build they were running, spanning 54 releases. Heaviest reporters:
- Claude Code v2.1.12
- Claude Code v2.1.219
- Claude Code v2.1.119
- Claude Code v2.1.128
- Claude Code v2.1.116
- Claude Code v2.1.92
- Claude Code v2.1.70
- Claude Code v2.1.3
Report volume, not a defect count: an issue can mention a build without that build having caused the failure. Versions come from the version string in the bug-report template, matched against real published tags.
Do these get fixed?
Median time to close is 4 days across 109 closures. Of the 109 closures with a recorded reason, 11% were closed as completed and 97 as not-planned or duplicate. The most recent completed fix landed in 2026-05.
Workarounds reported by the community
35 of these issues post a workaround someone says worked. The highest-engagement ones:
- [BUG] [BUG] Cowork VM fails to start on Windows ARM64 (Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, Snapdragon)
- …in the original post plus: - Installed x64 version via the workaround from 30864 (Add-AppxPackage) — different error: "Microsoft Virtual BIOS — enabling failed with error Not Implemented (0x80004001)" - Enabled Hypervis…
Found in the thread of #40198 · still open - [BUG] Cowork VM guest kernel never boots on Snapdragon X Plus (ARM64) — connection timeout every attempt
- …in ARM64 boot, not a hardware incompatibility. Working user workaround: open the workspace → ignore the 60 s error → leave the app open ~25 min (do NOT restart the app/service/PC — that kills the booting VM; the error di…
Found in the thread of #39636 · resolved - [BUG] Cowork ARM64: VM boots but guest never connects — "VM connection timeout after 60 seconds
- …l connection — the timer fires before the guest can answer. Workaround: Waiting ~3 min after app launch before using Cowork allows the retry cycle to catch the VM in a ready state. Ask: Increase the guest connection time…
Found in the thread of #39161 · still open - [BUG] GPU process crash (exitCode 101457950) kills Claude Desktop and corrupts MSIX package when Opus 5 performs an in-page browser action (Windows 11)
- …A/software rendering). Worth cross-referencing that thread. Workaround in the meantime: avoiding the embedded Browser pane entirely and using curl/WebFetch for anything that needs real web content.
Found in the thread of #81159 · resolved - Cowork: VM connection timeout on Windows ARM64 (Snapdragon X Plus)
- …er-V plumbing issue on the Snapdragon X Plus, not something you can fix with wsl --install or a restart. The EBUSY "VM is already running" errors you see later in the log are a downstream symptom, not the cause — after a…
Found in the thread of #45480 · resolved
Excerpts are quoted from the linked issue so you can judge relevance before opening it. Threads that only ask for a workaround, or report that there is none, are excluded. These are community suggestions, not official guidance from Anthropic — read the full thread before applying one.
Matching issues 101–127
Ranked by community engagement (reactions weighted over comments).
- [BUG] Claude Code crashes/hangs when Read tool attempts to access /dev/ttyACM* or /dev/ttyUSB* serial devices
- [BUG] Claude Desktop 1.34493.1.0 (Windows 11, MSIX) — silent crashes, minidumps written but zero log output
- Windows desktop app dies repeatedly under Smart App Control: vk_swiftshader.dll blocked because sideloaded MSIX ships no CodeIntegrity catalog
- Claude Desktop updater unconditionally re-copies chrome-native-host.exe on launch, causing hard launch failure when Chrome holds an open native-messaging handle
- [BUG] Cowork VM connection timeout on Snapdragon X ARM64 — guest never connects after add_plan9_shares, persists through full reinstall
- [BUG] Orphaned chrome-native-host.exe blocks native-host binary sync (and eventually app launch) after Scheduled Task browser automation runs
- [BUG] Cowork VM connection timeout on Windows ARM64 — load_swift_api completes in 0ms (no-op), guest agent never connects
- Desktop app (Windows/MSIX) intermittently fails to start after self-inflicted race condition on native-host install; recovery wipes local session index
- [BUG] Claude Desktop Windows (MSIX 1.22209.3.0, CC 2.1.215): renderer bootstrap crash-loop, Cowork sessions-bridge wedges, unreaped claude.exe children — daily forced restarts on a Max 20x plan
- Cowork ARM64: stale VM instance holds smol-bin.vhdx (EBUSY) + zero HNS networks — recurring host BSODs (Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, Snapdragon X)
- claude on ARM
- [BUG] Cowork "VM connection timeout after 60 seconds" on Snapdragon ARM64 + Windows 11 Home — vmms missing; extends locked #42784
- [BUG] Read tool fails with 'EUNKNOWN: unknown error, read' on local D: drive files while child processes read the same files fine (Windows 11, desktop app)
- [BUG] [Windows] Local agent / claude code session hangs on endless loading spinner — spawn EBUSY on bundled claude.exe, triggering an infinite re-download loop
- Claude Desktop 1.11187.4 - native crash in Cowork/Secure-VM bootstrap on Windows (single-drive C:, not EXDEV)
- [Bug] Output truncation: Large portions of Claude's response not displayed in terminal
- Claude Code shows "Credit balance too low" despite active Pro subscription with low session usage
- [BUG] Plugin marketplace auto-update runs synchronously inside PreToolUse hook path, causing multi-minute session hangs under concurrent sessions (Windows)
- [BUG] Windows service (CoworkVMService) flaps disabled/enabled during MSIX auto-update, blocked by EBUSY on chrome-native-host.exe
- Claude in Chrome: silent-reauth failure latches startupReauthState={terminal:true} with no cooldown, permanently killing the bridge until manual sign-out/sign-in
- [BUG] Windows desktop: ScheduledTasks startVM retry loop every ~5 min, forever ('VM service not running. Restart your computer to restore it.') - 496 failures/48h, persists across reboots
- [Bug] Plugin marketplace add fails with EBUSY error on Windows during file operations
- Claude Desktop (MSIX/Windows) fails to relaunch after auto-update; CoworkVMService ACL blocks admin mitigation
- [BUG][Windows] Task tools (TaskCreate/TaskUpdate) wedged by EPERM on lock-dir rmdir — transient AV handle + orphaned .lock.lock blocks all later calls
- [BUG] Cowork guest connection timeout after update 1.20186→1.21459 — guest connected 9× same morning on old version, 0× since (Windows 11 Home, low-end hardware)
- [BUG] Corporate AV (ESET) quarantines plugin installs mid-rename — surfaced as bare EBUSY/EPERM, leaves half-installed state
- [BUG]