Code mode crashes instantly (exit code 1) after Desktop app update

Description

After updating Claude Desktop, Code mode (local sessions) crashes instantly with exit code 1. Chat/Cowork VM sessions work fine. The same Claude Code binary version (2.1.78) works on another Mac.

Environment

• Claude Desktop: v1.1.7714
• Claude Code binary: 2.1.78 (embedded, downloaded by Desktop)
• Claude Code CLI: 2.1.81 (works fine)
• OS: macOS (Apple Silicon, Darwin 24.5.0)
• Started: March 22, 2026 (after Desktop app update)

Symptoms

• Every local Code mode session crashes immediately (0 seconds, no first response)
• Log shows: Session local_XXXX query error: Claude Code process exited with code 1
• [CCD CycleHealth] unhealthy cycle ... (0s, hadFirstResponse=false, reason=no_response)
• Cowork VM sessions launch and run successfully
• Binary runs fine from terminal (claude --version returns 2.1.78, --output-format stream-json mode works)

What I tried (none fixed it)

1. Full quit + relaunch
2. Sign out and back in
3. Check for updates
4. Cleared ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code/ (re-downloaded successfully, same crash)
5. Cleared all 105 persisted code sessions in claude-code-sessions/
6. Cleared local-agent-mode session data (local_* dirs + debug/)
7. Verified binary is correct architecture (darwin-arm64) and runs from terminal
8. Verified config JSON files are valid
9. No crash reports in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/
10. Confirmed same binary version (2.1.78) works on another Mac

Relevant logs

[info] Using Claude Code binary at: .../claude-code/2.1.78/claude.app/Contents/MacOS/claude
[error] Session local_XXXX query error: Claude Code process exited with code 1
[info] [CCD CycleHealth] unhealthy cycle for local_XXXX (0s, hadFirstResponse=false, reason=no_response)

Previous sessions (before March 22 update) worked fine:

[info] [CCD CycleHealth] healthy cycle for local_XXXX (1127s, hadFirstResponse=true)

Notes

• The crash is not reproducible from terminal - running the binary with the same flags exits cleanly
• Something in how the Desktop app internally launches the binary for local Code mode sessions causes the immediate exit
• The Desktop app resolves 1 CC env var from login shell; VM node version is 24.13.0