[BUG] Claude Code crashes with SIGABRT (signal 6) on WSL2 with Node.js 18 — "Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?"

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?

Claude Code shows "Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?" without the user pressing Escape. It can happen on any action: text responses, tool calls, or agent spawning. Agents tend to die instantly, while the main session sometimes survives a few minutes before crashing. The Node.js process is killed by SIGABRT (signal 6). The kernel log confirms: node: claude: potentially unexpected fatal signal 6.

What Should Happen?

Claude Code should run without crashing. Responses, tool calls, and agent spawning should complete normally.

Error Messages/Logs

node: claude: potentially unexpected fatal signal 6.
  CPU: 0 PID: 12333 Comm: claude Not tainted 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 #1
  WSL (13768 - CaptureCrash): Capturing crash for pid: 3863, executable: !usr!bin!node, signal: 6,
  port: 50005

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Node.js 18.19.1 on WSL2
2. Have Windows update KB5079473 (March 2026 Patch Tuesday) installed
3. Install and start Claude Code
4. Work normally for a few minutes. The crash is intermittent and may take 1-15 minutes to appear. To trigger it faster, paste this test prompt which forces agent spawning: _Launch 3 agents in parallel: one to run node --version, one to run uname -a, and one to run free -m_
5. The agent dies with "Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?", or the main session crashes after a few minutes of normal use
6. Run dmesg | tail to confirm fatal signal 6 for the node/claude process
7. Fix: Upgrade Node.js to 22.22.1, then npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest. Crashes stop.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Was working on the same version (2.1.79) before March 17, 2026

Claude Code Version

2.1.79 (Claude Code)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

Ruled out as causes: terminal type, project-specific config, bloated config files, MCP servers, hooks, memory pressure (12GB free on both Windows and WSL), Claude Code version rollback, .wslconfig memory limits, Windows reboot, wsl --shutdown.

The root cause seems to be connected to Node.js 18.x crashing with SIGABRT when spawning child processes on WSL2. The crash surfaces as "Interrupted" with no indication that upgrading Node.js is the fix. Consider raising the minimum Node.js version in engines or adding a startup warning on WSL2 with Node 18.x.