[BUG] claude app [mac] start and after 5 seconds ... exit error

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?

Environment

• macOS 15.7.4 (Sequoia), Apple Silicon (arm64), 32GB RAM
• Claude.app 1.6608.2 (downloaded fresh from claude.com/download — same version)

Crash signature (Crashpad minidump)
electron.v8-oom.is_heap_oom
electron.v8-oom.location
"allocation failure; GC in old space requested" (average mu=0.95)

Reproduction

1. Launch Claude.app
2. RSS climbs from ~330MB to 3.5GB in 30s (~100MB/s leak)
3. App self-terminates with V8 heap OOM
4. ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles/ re-downloads on every restart even after deletion (rootfs.img 7.7GB + sessiondata 1.2GB)

Workarounds attempted — all failed

• ✗ Wipe Cache, Code Cache, GPUCache, IndexedDB
• ✗ Move/delete vm_bundles (auto re-downloads)
• ✗ Full profile reset (~/Library/Application Support/Claude removed)
• ✗ Reinstall Claude.app (same 1.6608.2)
• ✗ --js-flags="--max-old-space-size=8192" (only applies to main process, not renderer)
• ✗ NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=8192" via launchctl
• ✗ Toggle OFF "코드 실행 및 파일 생성" / "Code execution and file creation" in claude.ai/settings → /기능 (Cowork still downloads vm_bundles)
• ✗ chmod 000 on vm_bundles/ directory

Result: app unusable on this configuration. Falling back to claude.ai web + Claude Code CLI.

What Should Happen?

Environment

• macOS 15.7.4 (Sequoia), Apple Silicon (arm64), 32GB RAM
• Claude.app 1.6608.2 (downloaded fresh from claude.com/download — same version)

Crash signature (Crashpad minidump)
electron.v8-oom.is_heap_oom
electron.v8-oom.location
"allocation failure; GC in old space requested" (average mu=0.95)

Reproduction

1. Launch Claude.app
2. RSS climbs from ~330MB to 3.5GB in 30s (~100MB/s leak)
3. App self-terminates with V8 heap OOM
4. ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles/ re-downloads on every restart even after deletion (rootfs.img 7.7GB + sessiondata 1.2GB)

Workarounds attempted — all failed

• ✗ Wipe Cache, Code Cache, GPUCache, IndexedDB
• ✗ Move/delete vm_bundles (auto re-downloads)
• ✗ Full profile reset (~/Library/Application Support/Claude removed)
• ✗ Reinstall Claude.app (same 1.6608.2)
• ✗ --js-flags="--max-old-space-size=8192" (only applies to main process, not renderer)
• ✗ NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=8192" via launchctl
• ✗ Toggle OFF "코드 실행 및 파일 생성" / "Code execution and file creation" in claude.ai/settings → /기능 (Cowork still downloads vm_bundles)
• ✗ chmod 000 on vm_bundles/ directory

Result: app unusable on this configuration. Falling back to claude.ai web + Claude Code CLI.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Environment

• macOS 15.7.4 (Sequoia), Apple Silicon (arm64), 32GB RAM
• Claude.app 1.6608.2 (downloaded fresh from claude.com/download — same version)

Crash signature (Crashpad minidump)
electron.v8-oom.is_heap_oom
electron.v8-oom.location
"allocation failure; GC in old space requested" (average mu=0.95)

Reproduction

1. Launch Claude.app
2. RSS climbs from ~330MB to 3.5GB in 30s (~100MB/s leak)
3. App self-terminates with V8 heap OOM
4. ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles/ re-downloads on every restart even after deletion (rootfs.img 7.7GB + sessiondata 1.2GB)

Workarounds attempted — all failed

• ✗ Wipe Cache, Code Cache, GPUCache, IndexedDB
• ✗ Move/delete vm_bundles (auto re-downloads)
• ✗ Full profile reset (~/Library/Application Support/Claude removed)
• ✗ Reinstall Claude.app (same 1.6608.2)
• ✗ --js-flags="--max-old-space-size=8192" (only applies to main process, not renderer)
• ✗ NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=8192" via launchctl
• ✗ Toggle OFF "코드 실행 및 파일 생성" / "Code execution and file creation" in claude.ai/settings → /기능 (Cowork still downloads vm_bundles)
• ✗ chmod 000 on vm_bundles/ directory

Result: app unusable on this configuration. Falling back to claude.ai web + Claude Code CLI.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.6608.2

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_