[BUG] Claude Code ECONNREFUSED on one Mac — all standard troubleshooting exhausted

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 ECONNREFUSED on one Mac — all standard troubleshooting exhausted

Environment

• Claude Code version: v2.1.87
• OS: macOS (Apple Silicon, Mac Studio M2, 64GB)
• Node.js versions tested: v22.22.0, v24.13.0, v24.14.1, v25.0.0
• Installation methods tested: npm (@anthropic-ai/claude-code), standalone (curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash), npx
• Auth mode: API Usage Billing (OAuth, Pro/Max subscription)
• Network: Same network as another Mac where Claude Code works fine

Problem

Claude Code consistently fails with Unable to connect to API (ConnectionRefused) / ECONNREFUSED on every attempt, across all installation methods and Node.js versions. Another Mac on the same network with the same account works perfectly (installed via npm).

What works on this Mac

• curl -v https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages → HTTP 200 (with valid key) / 401 (with test key) — connection succeeds
• curl -v https://platform.claude.com → OK
• curl -v https://claude.ai/api/auth → OK
• node -e "fetch('https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages').then(r => console.log(r.status))" → 405 (OK)
• nslookup / dig → api.anthropic.com resolves correctly to 160.79.104.10
• Node.js DNS resolve and lookup both return correct IP

What does NOT work

• claude (any command including hello, config list, login, logout) → Unable to connect to API (ConnectionRefused), retries 10 times and fails
• Same behavior with npm install, standalone install, and npx

Diagnostic findings

No network activity from Claude Code

• lsof -i -n -P | grep node → nothing (while Claude Code is retrying)
• NODE_DEBUG=net,tls claude 2>/tmp/debug.log → no net/tls output at all
• sudo tcpdump -i lo0 → no loopback traffic
• Claude Code appears to never actually attempt a network connection

System is clean

• No proxy configured (scutil --proxy clean, env | grep proxy empty)
• /etc/hosts has no anthropic/claude entries (only Parallels-related blocks)
• No NODE_OPTIONS set, no .npmrc, no preload modules
• macOS firewall not blocking Node.js

Cleanup attempted (all unsuccessful)

• rm -rf ~/.claude — multiple times
• Removed ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code, claude-code-vm, claude-code-sessions
• Removed keychain entries for claude/anthropic
• Set bridge-state.json enabled: false
• Quit Claude Desktop app (pkill -f "Claude.app")
• Unloaded and removed ai.openclaw.gateway LaunchAgent (~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist)
• Removed ~/.openclaw directory
• Full uninstall/reinstall of Claude Code via npm and standalone installer
• Tested with Node.js v22, v24, v25

Possibly relevant

• openclaw (ai.openclaw.gateway) was installed as a LaunchAgent on this Mac. It was removed, but the issue persists. openclaw may have modified Claude Code's behavior or left residual configuration.
• Claude Desktop app was running with bridge enabled (bridge-state.json had "enabled": true). Disabling bridge and quitting Desktop did not help.
• After full cleanup, Claude Code still shows "Welcome back!" suggesting credentials are cached somewhere not yet identified.

Request

Guidance on where Claude Code stores its connection endpoint configuration and what could cause it to not even attempt a network connection (no traffic visible in lsof, tcpdump, or NODE_DEBUG). Is there a verbose/debug logging flag we can enable to see exactly what URL/port Claude Code is trying to reach?

What Should Happen?

Claude Code should connect to api.anthropic.com and function normally, as it does on another Mac with the same account on the same network.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Install Claude Code via any method on this specific Mac
Run claude
Type any message
Observe: Unable to connect to API (ConnectionRefused), retries 10/10, fails

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.87

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_