Welcome screen appears for 1-2 seconds then clears intermittently (v2.1.37 Windows CLI)

Environment

Version: 2.1.37 (Claude Code)
Platform: Windows 11
Terminals Tested:

• Git Bash
• PowerShell (both admin and non-admin)
• VSCode integrated terminal

Symptom

The boxed welcome screen with decorative borders appears correctly for approximately 1-2 seconds, then clears/disappears from the terminal. The behavior is intermittent:

• Sometimes appears and stays (rare)
• Sometimes appears for 1 second then clears (most common)
• Sometimes doesn't appear at all

After clearing, only the plain Claude > prompt remains.

Expected Behavior

The welcome screen should appear with:

• Orange decorative box borders (╭─╮│├┤╰─╯)
• "Welcome back [Name]!" message
• Tips for getting started section
• Recent activity section

And remain visible while working with Claude Code.

Actual Behavior

Welcome screen displays briefly, then the entire screen clears, leaving only:

Claude >

Impact

• Welcome screen with tips and recent activity disappears
• Makes CLI feel broken or unresponsive
• User experience is confusing and inconsistent
• Loss of helpful context (tips, recent commands)

Configuration Details

• COLORTERM=truecolor (set)
• Terminal width: 80-120 characters (varies by terminal)
• No PowerShell profile errors
• ANSI support enabled

Reproduction

1. Open any terminal (Git Bash, PowerShell, VSCode)
2. Run claude
3. Observe welcome screen appears
4. Screen clears after 1-2 seconds
5. Behavior is inconsistent - sometimes works, sometimes doesn't

Related Issues

This appears related to:

• #15368 (Claude for Desktop window appears for 1-2s then disappears)
• #769 (Screen flickering)
• #1913 (Terminal flickering)

The intermittent clearing behavior suggests a terminal rendering or process lifecycle issue specific to Windows.

Additional Context

Tried multiple workarounds with no consistent success:

• Setting COLORTERM environment variable
• Removing PowerShell profile
• Maximizing terminal window
• Using Git Bash instead of PowerShell
• Running PowerShell as Administrator (sometimes works in admin mode)

The issue persists across all terminal types on Windows, suggesting it's a Claude Code rendering bug rather than terminal configuration.