[BUG] claude.exe hangs indefinitely on --version/--help in corporate Windows VDI (valid signature, ESET disabled, Node.js unaffected)

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?

The process hangs indefinitely (tested well beyond 10+ minutes) when running claude --version or claude --help. No output, no error message, no exit code returned. Reproduced identically with DEBUG=* set beforehand (no log lines printed before the hang), claude --debug --version, and claude --safe-mode --version.

What Should Happen?

The command should print the installed version (or help text) immediately, without hanging.

Error Messages/Logs

No error output is produced. The process hangs silently with no stdout, no stderr, and no exit code — not even with DEBUG=* set. Get-AuthenticodeSignature on the binary confirms a valid signature; Get-Process shows the process alive but with near-zero CPU usage.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude Code on a Windows VM inside a corporate network managed by domain group policy: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
2. Open PowerShell (or cmd.exe)
3. Run claude --version

Expected: prints the installed version immediately.
Actual: hangs indefinitely (tested well beyond 10+ minutes).

Also reproduced identically with:

• claude --help
• claude --debug --version
• claude --safe-mode --version
• Invoking the native binary directly, bypassing the npm .cmd wrapper entirely: & "<npm global path>\node_modules\@anthropic-ai\claude-code\bin\claude.exe" --version

Diagnostic steps already ruling out other causes:

• Network/TLS works fine (Test-NetConnection, curl -v, and a plain node -e require('https').get(...) all succeed against api.anthropic.com)
• Node.js itself is unaffected: a minimal node script.js with just console.log runs instantly (tested on Node v22.23.1 and v24.16.0)
• Not proxy-related: no proxy configured (netsh winhttp show proxy), HTTP_PROXY/HTTPS_PROXY/NO_PROXY all empty
• Not (solely) ESET: created an explicit HIPS allow rule for node.exe, and fully disabled ESET real-time protection — hang persists identically
• Claude Desktop app works correctly on this same machine

Likely a Windows domain group policy (AppLocker/WDAC or similar) or an additional EDR agent intercepting native binary execution silently, rather than a network, certificate, or Node.js issue.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Unable to determine — claude --version is the exact command that hangs (see bug description). Installed via npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code on [fecha de instalación], if that helps narrow down the package version.

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

This is a domain-managed corporate Windows VM. The installer for Claude Desktop was initially blocked by a "Trusted app installs must be enabled" policy restriction, resolved by enabling sideload apps in Windows settings — Claude Desktop then worked correctly on this same machine, which is why I suspect this hang is specific to how the native CLI binary behaves in this kind of restricted/managed VDI environment (possibly AppLocker/WDAC or an EDR agent beyond ESET intercepting native binary execution silently) rather than an account, network, or backend issue.

I don't have Process Monitor/Process Explorer output yet, but can gather that if it would help narrow down the exact syscall or wait state the process is blocked on.

I also raised this with Anthropic support directly (they suggested trying --debug and --safe-mode, both of which hang identically as noted above) in case that ticket history is useful context.