Windows: tasklist IDE detection causes 5+ minute startup delay when WMI times out

Bug Description

Claude Code startup takes 5+ minutes on Windows when the \ command used for IDE detection times out due to WMI issues.

Environment

• Claude Code Version: 2.0.73
• OS: Windows 11 (Build 26200.7462)
• Platform: Native Windows (not WSL)
• Shell: Git Bash

Debug Log Evidence

From \:

\
304,302ms = 5+ minutes for a single command during startup.

Root Cause

The \ command itself is timing out on this system:

\Windows PowerShell
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PS C:\Users\thorn>
This is a Windows WMI issue, but Claude Code should not block startup for 5+ minutes waiting for this command.

Suggested Fixes

1. Add a shorter timeout (e.g., 5-10 seconds) to the IDE detection command
2. Run IDE detection asynchronously - don't block startup on this
3. Use a fallback method if tasklist times out (e.g., \ via PowerShell, or skip IDE detection entirely)
4. Cache the result and only re-run periodically instead of on every startup

Additional Notes

• The function uses \ which suggests it may already be identified as needing improvement
• This issue may affect other Windows users with WMI problems (enterprise environments, antivirus interference, etc.)
• The user's WMI subsystem has issues, but Claude Code should be resilient to this

Workaround

None currently available to users. Restarting the Windows Management Instrumentation service (\) may help some users but did not resolve the issue in this case.