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Claude Code Issues / #21156

Display issues on Windows 10: black screen in Windows Terminal, garbled output in CMD

Status Fixed / completed
Reported on v2.1.20
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 12 comments · opened Jan 27, 2026 · closed Feb 22, 2026

Environment

  • Claude Code version: 2.1.20
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Terminal: Windows Terminal / Windows CMD

Problem Description

Issue 1: Black screen in Windows Terminal

When using Claude Code in Windows Terminal, the screen frequently goes completely black with no output displayed. The application appears to be running but nothing is visible.

Issue 2: Garbled/corrupted display in Windows CMD

When using Claude Code in Windows CMD (cmd.exe), the display becomes garbled/corrupted (screen tearing or character corruption).

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Windows Terminal or CMD on Windows 10
  2. Run Claude Code (version 2.1.20)
  3. Use the application normally
  4. Black screen (Windows Terminal) or garbled display (CMD) occurs intermittently

Expected Behavior

The terminal should display Claude Code output correctly without black screens or display corruption.

Additional Context

Both issues seem to be related to terminal rendering on Windows 10. The issues occur frequently during normal usage.

View original on GitHub ↗

12 Comments

github-actions[bot] · 7 months ago

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

  1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19637
  2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/20627
  3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/20405

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

jaried · 7 months ago

Thank you for the quick triage!

To clarify why this is not a duplicate:

  1. Version difference: I'm using version 2.1.20, which is newer than the versions mentioned in other issues.
  1. Garbled display: Yes, this symptom is similar to other reported issues - I acknowledge this part may be related.
  1. Black screen in Windows Terminal: This appears to be a new issue that hasn't been reported before. The screen goes completely black (not garbled/corrupted, but entirely blank) specifically when using Windows Terminal. This is different from the display corruption issues others have reported.

Would it be possible to keep this issue open at least for the black screen problem, or should I create a separate issue specifically for that?

jaried · 7 months ago

Additional Observations

  1. Multiple instances significantly increase occurrence: When running multiple Claude Code instances simultaneously, the black screen issue occurs much more frequently, making it practically unusable.
  1. Single instance also affected: The black screen issue also occurs when running only a single Claude Code instance, though less frequently.
  1. Environment details:
  • OS: Windows 10 22H2 (Build 19045.6466)
  • Terminal: Windows Terminal 1.23.20211.0
  • Claude Code: 2.1.20
jaried · 7 months ago

Fixed in version 2.1.22. The black screen issue in Windows Terminal no longer occurs.

Teja865 · 7 months ago

Environment

  • Claude Code CLI version: 2.1.22 (broken), 2.0.50 (works)
  • Claude Desktop App version: Latest (downloaded Jan 29, 2026)
  • OS: Windows 10 (Build 10.0.19045.6456)
  • Node.js: v20.20.0
  • Terminals tested: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor integrated terminal
  • Subscription: Claude Pro ($118 USD/month)

Problem Description

Issue 1: Claude Desktop App - Code tab shows black screen

  • Chat tab works fine
  • Code tab shows completely black/blank screen
  • Shows "Effecting..." but never loads
  • Reinstalling doesn't fix it

Issue 2: Claude Code CLI v2.1.x hangs on Windows

  • Running claude command shows no output (blank/frozen)
  • claude --version and claude --help work
  • claude -p "hello" hangs with no response
  • Happens in all terminals: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor

What works

  • Claude Code CLI v2.0.50 works perfectly in standalone PowerShell
  • Claude Desktop App Chat tab works
  • Network connectivity is fine (API responds)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code CLI via npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  2. Open any terminal on Windows 10
  3. Run claude
  4. Screen stays blank/black - no UI renders

Workaround

Downgrade to v2.0.50:

npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.0.50

Expected Behavior

Claude Code should display the interactive TUI properly on Windows.

---

Feedback to Anthropic Team

I am a paying customer ($118 USD/month) and I have been struggling with this issue for 2+ days. This has completely blocked my development work.

Problems with this situation:

  1. Wasted tokens and usage - I spent significant tokens and API usage just trying to debug this issue that is on Anthropic's side, not mine.
  1. Wasted time - Hours of productivity lost troubleshooting a bug that should have been caught before release.
  1. No human support - I emailed customer support multiple times. No human has responded. Only an AI auto-reply agent responds, which cannot actually help with technical issues like this.
  1. Paying for broken product - I am paying $118/month for a product that doesn't work. The Windows rendering bug has been reported by many users, yet it was still released.

Requests:

  1. Please prioritize fixing this Windows rendering bug - it affects many paying customers
  2. Please improve customer support - real humans should respond to technical issues
  3. Please test on Windows before releasing updates
  4. Consider compensating affected users for lost usage/tokens spent debugging Anthropic's bugs

This is frustrating for customers who rely on Claude Code for their daily work.

Screenshots

[Attach your screenshots here]

Teja865 · 7 months ago

Environment

  • Claude Code CLI version: 2.1.22 (broken), 2.0.50 (works)
  • Claude Desktop App version: Latest (downloaded Jan 29, 2026)
  • OS: Windows 10 (Build 10.0.19045.6456)
  • Node.js: v20.20.0
  • Terminals tested: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor integrated terminal
  • Subscription: Claude Pro ($118 USD/month)

Problem Description

Issue 1: Claude Desktop App - Code tab shows black screen

  • Chat tab works fine
  • Code tab shows completely black/blank screen
  • Shows "Effecting..." but never loads
  • Reinstalling doesn't fix it

Issue 2: Claude Code CLI v2.1.x hangs on Windows

  • Running claude command shows no output (blank/frozen)
  • claude --version and claude --help work
  • claude -p "hello" hangs with no response
  • Happens in all terminals: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor

What works

  • Claude Code CLI v2.0.50 works perfectly in standalone PowerShell
  • Claude Desktop App Chat tab works
  • Network connectivity is fine (API responds)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code CLI via npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  2. Open any terminal on Windows 10
  3. Run claude
  4. Screen stays blank/black - no UI renders

Workaround

Downgrade to v2.0.50:

npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.0.50

Expected Behavior

Claude Code should display the interactive TUI properly on Windows.

---

Feedback to Anthropic Team

I am a paying customer ($118 USD/month) and I have been struggling with this issue for 2+ days. This has completely blocked my development work.

Problems with this situation:

  1. Wasted tokens and usage - I spent significant tokens and API usage just trying to debug this issue that is on Anthropic's side, not mine.
  1. Wasted time - Hours of productivity lost troubleshooting a bug that should have been caught before release.
  1. No human support - I emailed customer support multiple times. No human has responded. Only an AI auto-reply agent responds, which cannot actually help with technical issues like this.
  1. Paying for broken product - I am paying $118/month for a product that doesn't work. The Windows rendering bug has been reported by many users, yet it was still released.

Requests:

  1. Please prioritize fixing this Windows rendering bug - it affects many paying customers
  2. Please improve customer support - real humans should respond to technical issues
  3. Please test on Windows before releasing updates
  4. Consider compensating affected users for lost usage/tokens spent debugging Anthropic's bugs

This is frustrating for customers who rely on Claude Code for their daily work.

Screenshots

[Attach your screenshots here]

Teja865 · 7 months ago

Environment

  • Claude Code CLI version: 2.1.22 (broken), 2.0.50 (works)
  • Claude Desktop App version: Latest (downloaded Jan 29, 2026)
  • OS: Windows 10 (Build 10.0.19045.6456)
  • Node.js: v20.20.0
  • Terminals tested: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor integrated terminal
  • Subscription: Claude Pro ($118 USD/month)

Problem Description

Issue 1: Claude Desktop App - Code tab shows black screen

  • Chat tab works fine
  • Code tab shows completely black/blank screen
  • Shows "Effecting..." but never loads
  • Reinstalling doesn't fix it

Issue 2: Claude Code CLI v2.1.x hangs on Windows

  • Running claude command shows no output (blank/frozen)
  • claude --version and claude --help work
  • claude -p "hello" hangs with no response
  • Happens in all terminals: PowerShell, CMD, Windows Terminal, Cursor

What works

  • Claude Code CLI v2.0.50 works perfectly in standalone PowerShell
  • Claude Desktop App Chat tab works
  • Network connectivity is fine (API responds)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Claude Code CLI via npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  2. Open any terminal on Windows 10
  3. Run claude
  4. Screen stays blank/black - no UI renders

Workaround

Downgrade to v2.0.50:

npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.0.50

Expected Behavior

Claude Code should display the interactive TUI properly on Windows.

---

Feedback to Anthropic Team

I am a paying customer ($118 USD/month) and I have been struggling with this issue for 2+ days. This has completely blocked my development work.

Problems with this situation:

  1. Wasted tokens and usage - I spent significant tokens and API usage just trying to debug this issue that is on Anthropic's side, not mine.
  1. Wasted time - Hours of productivity lost troubleshooting a bug that should have been caught before release.
  1. No human support - I emailed customer support multiple times. No human has responded. Only an AI auto-reply agent responds, which cannot actually help with technical issues like this.
  1. Paying for broken product - I am paying $118/month for a product that doesn't work. The Windows rendering bug has been reported by many users, yet it was still released.

Requests:

  1. Please prioritize fixing this Windows rendering bug - it affects many paying customers
  2. Please improve customer support - real humans should respond to technical issues
  3. Please test on Windows before releasing updates
  4. Consider compensating affected users for lost usage/tokens spent debugging Anthropic's bugs

This is frustrating for customers who rely on Claude Code for their daily work.

Screenshots

[Attach your screenshots here]

jaried · 7 months ago

@Teja865 Thanks for the follow-up. Just to clarify: my issue was already resolved in version 2.1.22, which is why I closed this issue. Since your comment came after the issue was closed, I'd recommend
opening a new issue if you're still experiencing similar problems. That way the maintainers can track it separately.

jaried · 6 months ago

Update: The black screen issue was fixed in v2.1.32, but it regressed in v2.1.33 — the problem has returned.

frostebite · 6 months ago

Seeing this on latest windows version

jaried · 6 months ago

I can confirm the black screen issue persists in version 2.1.37. The bug that was fixed in v2.1.32 has regressed again.

Environment:

  • OS: Windows 11
  • Claude Code version: 2.1.37
  • Terminal: Windows Terminal

The screen goes completely black when launching Claude Code, making it unusable. This is a critical regression that affects daily workflow.

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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