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Claude Code Issues / #19623

[BUG] ExitPlanMode tool fails with "AbortError" - hangs indefinitely when MCP servers active

Status Fixed / completed
Maintainer reply ✓ Yes — amorriscode
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 15 comments · opened Jan 21, 2026 · closed Jan 22, 2026
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (amorriscode, contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Preflight Checklist

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

What's Wrong?

When Claude Code calls the ExitPlanMode tool to exit plan mode, it hangs indefinitely showing "Honking..." status in the UI, then fails with error:

Tool permission request failed: AbortError

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Start Claude Code with MCP servers enabled (Chrome extension + Notion connector)
  2. Ask Claude to plan a multi-step task (this triggers plan mode)
  3. Claude successfully writes plan to ~/.claude/plans/*.md
  4. Claude calls ExitPlanMode tool
  5. UI shows "Honking..." status indefinitely
  6. Eventually fails with AbortError
  7. Only way to recover is killing the process (Ctrl+C or kill)

Process details showing the hung state:

--permission-mode plan --mcp-config {"mcpServers":{"Claude in Chrome":{"type":"sdk","name":"Claude in Chrome"},"mcp-registry":{"type":"sdk","name":"mcp-registry"},"ef89416a-...":{"type":"sdk","name":"..."}}}

The plan file is written successfully before the hang occurs. This appears to be a race condition or communication issue between the permission system and MCP servers.

What Should Happen?

ExitPlanMode should display an approval prompt in the UI, allowing the user to review and approve/reject the plan. After user confirmation, Claude Code should exit plan mode and proceed with implementation.

Error Messages/Logs

Tool permission request failed: AbortError

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Start Claude Code v2.1.8 with MCP servers enabled (Claude in Chrome extension + Notion connector are active)
  2. Ask Claude to plan a multi-step implementation task, e.g.: "Help me plan making these pages visually consistent"
  3. Claude enters plan mode and writes a plan to ~/.claude/plans/<random-name>.md
  4. Claude calls the ExitPlanMode tool to request user approval
  5. Observe: UI shows "Honking..." status and hangs indefinitely
  6. Wait ~30-60 seconds - eventually fails with AbortError
  7. Only recovery: Ctrl+C or kill <pid>

Workaround: Kill process and restart. Avoid tasks that trigger plan mode, or disable MCP servers.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.8

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

MCP Configuration from process:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Claude in Chrome": {"type": "sdk", "name": "Claude in Chrome"},
    "mcp-registry": {"type": "sdk", "name": "mcp-registry"},
    "ef89416a-1e16-4a1c-b8d0-156632e6d0da": {"type": "sdk", "name": "Notion connector"}
  }
}

Hypothesis: The ExitPlanMode tool triggers a permission prompt that requires UI interaction, but something in the MCP server communication chain is blocking or not forwarding the approval request correctly, causing the tool to hang until it times out with an AbortError.

Environment details:

  • macOS 26.2 (Build 25C56)
  • Chrome extension: Claude in Chrome (active)
  • Notion MCP connector (active)

View original on GitHub ↗

15 Comments

github-actions[bot] · 7 months ago

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

  1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/15686
  2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/14229
  3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/18791

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

  • If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
  • To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

isaaclamnl · 7 months ago

Additional Testing Results

I ran some automated tests to help isolate the issue:

Test 1: Non-interactive mode (--print) without MCP servers

echo 'Enter plan mode, write a plan, then exit plan mode' | claude --strict-mcp-config --print --max-turns 10

Result: ExitPlanMode was denied (not hung) with this in the response:

"permission_denials":[{"tool_name":"ExitPlanMode"...}]

This is expected behavior - --print mode can't display approval prompts, so it correctly denies the tool rather than hanging.

Test 2: Interactive mode with MCP servers (original bug)

Result: Hangs indefinitely with "Honking..." status, then fails with AbortError

Conclusion

The bug appears to be specific to the interactive permission prompt UI when MCP servers are active:

| Mode | MCP Servers | Result |
|------|-------------|--------|
| --print (non-interactive) | None | ExitPlanMode denied (correct) |
| Interactive | With MCP | Hangs → AbortError (bug) |
| Interactive | Without MCP | Untested |

This suggests the issue is in how the permission prompt system communicates when MCP SDK servers are loaded, not in the core ExitPlanMode logic itself.

Related: The duplicate issues found (#15686, #18791) also involve permission prompts and MCP config freezing, supporting this hypothesis.

iwahbe · 7 months ago

I'm seeing the same hang in the Claude app (in Code mode).

bilelrais · 7 months ago

I'm seeing the same issue in Claude Desktop Code. Claude can't exit Plan mode. A workaround was to start a new session to apply the plan. But this is very annoying

NxtLvlNutrition · 7 months ago

I'm getting this too, has stalled my work.

eddyplolz · 7 months ago

I'm using Claude for Windows and the ExitPlanMode tool hangs indefinitely without permission prompt or anything.

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Enter plan mode (click Plan button or /plan)
  2. Create/edit a plan file
  3. Call ExitPlanMode tool
  4. Tool runs indefinitely - no permission prompt appears
lukanikcevic · 7 months ago

I'm having the same issue in Claude Code on macOS.

devindepe · 7 months ago
I'm having the same issue in Claude Code on macOS.

+1.

bmoormeier · 7 months ago

Similar bug here using desktop app in Code mode.

tonycoderdev · 7 months ago

What works okay for me is stopping the prompt and telling it:

"You were stuck exiting Plan Mode so I exited for you and set the mode to 'Code'. Can you go straight to the implementation part?"

bilelrais · 7 months ago

The issue is that all of its tools stop working when I do that
@tonycoderdev. So i have to start a fresh session each time to apply the
plan

On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 7:31 AM tonycoderdev @.***>
wrote:

tonycoderdev left a comment (anthropics/claude-code#19623) <https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19623#issuecomment-3782336730> What works okay for me is stopping the prompt and telling it: "You were stuck exiting Plan Mode so I exited for you. Can you go straight to the implementation part?" — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19623#issuecomment-3782336730>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BLX6XDL4F2OFM762GLK2QMD4IBACHAVCNFSM6AAAAACSK6GR5GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTOOBSGMZTMNZTGA> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.***>
amorriscode contributor · 7 months ago

Fixed the issue where permission prompts weren't showing and thus made plan mode get stuck in desktop. Please refresh or restart the app. Sorry about that folks!

LeonMusic · 7 months ago

<img width="840" height="151" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/020d69bd-343c-470e-8ecf-585c42edb0fa" />

Well, there you got it. :D

bilelrais · 7 months ago

Kudos. Now the Planning UI looks much better and exiting the plan mode is
so smooth.

Only thing I noticed is that after exiting plan mode, instead of switching
to code mode, it switches to ask mode.

Also another thing is that conversations keep getting longer without older
messages getting masked after compaction which at some point becomes very
heavy on the PC’s RAM and slows down the PC. Would be great if you could
fix that.

On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 3:36 PM mrnobody @.***> wrote:

LeonMusic left a comment (anthropics/claude-code#19623) <https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19623#issuecomment-3810788883> image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/020d69bd-343c-470e-8ecf-585c42edb0fa> Well, there you got it. :D — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19623#issuecomment-3810788883>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BLX6XDOXFCUP7DASGYNKTZ34JCNMFAVCNFSM6AAAAACSK6GR5GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTQMJQG44DQOBYGM> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.***>
github-actions[bot] · 6 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.

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