[BUG] Claude Code randomly interrupts all tool calls on Node.js v18 — works fine on v22/v24

Bug Description

Claude Code 2.1.79 randomly interrupts every tool call (Bash, Read, Write, etc.) when running on Node.js v18. The same version of Claude Code works perfectly on Node.js v22/v24.

The interruption happens within 3 seconds of any tool execution. Every command shows Interrupted — even simple commands like echo hello. This makes Claude Code 100% unusable.

Environment

| | Broken machine | Working machine |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | v18.20.8 ❌ | v24.12.0 ✅ |
| npm | 10.8.2 | 11.6.2 |
| Claude Code | 2.1.79 | 2.1.79 |
| OS | Linux (Ubuntu, MLX DevBox) | Linux (Ubuntu, MLX DevBox) |
| Shell | bash | bash |
| ulimit -n | 1024768 | 1024768 |

Both machines are the same type of cloud dev machine (MLX DevBox), same OS image, same architecture (x86_64).

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Node.js v18 (e.g., v18.20.8)
2. Install Claude Code: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
3. Run claude
4. Type any prompt that triggers a Bash tool call (e.g., "run echo hello")
5. Observe: the tool call is interrupted within ~3 seconds

Expected Behavior

Tool calls should execute normally and return results.

Actual Behavior

Every tool call shows Interrupted after ~3 seconds. No error message, no stack trace. This happens on every tool call, not just specific ones.

Example output:

Bash(echo hello)
  ⎿  Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?

Root Cause

After 5+ hours of debugging (checking hooks, settings.json, MCP config, network, permissions — all were fine), the issue was resolved by upgrading Node.js from v18 to v24.

nvm install 24
nvm use 24
# Claude Code works perfectly after this

Suggestion

1. Update the minimum Node.js version requirement from >=18 to >=22 in the documentation and package.json
2. Or at minimum, add a startup warning when running on Node.js v18 that it may cause stability issues
3. The current docs say "Node.js >= 18" which leads users to believe v18 is fully supported — it is not

Impact

This bug cost me ~5 hours of debugging time. The symptoms (random interrupts, no error messages) give no indication that Node.js version is the cause, making it extremely difficult to diagnose.