v2.1.45: Bash broken on Windows - bad file descriptor on stdout pipe

Resolved 💬 12 comments Opened Feb 18, 2026 by texturalbeing Closed Feb 19, 2026

Description

All bash commands inside Claude Code fail with exit code 1 on Windows after updating to v2.1.45. The underlying error is:

Bash itself works fine — it cannot write to the stdout pipe that Claude Code (Node.js) creates. Even hello fails.

Reproduction

  • Update to Claude Code v2.1.45 on Windows with Git Bash
  • Run any bash command (e.g. hello, /c/CC_Projects/Original-Writing_LOCAL)
  • All fail silently with exit code 1

Running bash through PowerShell reveals the actual error:
Windows PowerShell
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PS C:\CC_Projects\Original-Writing_LOCAL> hello

Bash can still write to files (just not stdout):
test

Version comparison

Confirmed across multiple sessions using conversation export transcripts:

| Date | CC Version | Bash |
|------|-----------|------|
| 13 Feb | v2.1.39 | Working |
| 14 Feb | v2.1.41 | Working |
| 17 Feb | v2.1.44 | Working (x3 sessions) |
| 18 Feb | v2.1.45 | Broken (x2 sessions) |

The break correlates with the v2.1.45 changelog entry: Improved memory usage for shell commands that produce large output — RSS no longer grows unboundedly with command output size

Workaround

Downgrade to v2.1.44:

changed 2 packages in 3s

1 package is looking for funding
run npm fund for details

Note: if you also have the native installer at , it auto-updates independently and will override the npm version. Rename it to prevent it taking priority.

Environment

  • Windows 11 Home 10.0.26200
  • Git for Windows 2.52.0 (MSYS2/Cygwin)
  • Node.js v24.12.0
  • Claude Code v2.1.44 (npm) — working
  • Claude Code v2.1.45 (native + npm) — broken

View original on GitHub ↗

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