[Bug] IDE plugin stuck at "Synthesizing..." state in v2.0.0

I have the same problem also gives "Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed." works fine from terminal with the newest node version

The "Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed." means that it's looking for node in the current environment and cannot find it. If you close VSCode then re-launch it (using code from the terminal), does it resolve then?

hey @ccmQuQmccc, is this consistently reproducible? if you start a new chat, does it get stuck in loading state still?

The stuck with no progress, just synthesizing- there may be additional information in the Output panel under 'Claude VSCode',

I have the same problem...

❯ node --version                          
v22.17.0

claude from the terminal works fine, the VS Code extension shows me Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed. and then any conversation just spins. I'm on 26.1 Beta (25B5042k).

VSCode details:

Version: 1.104.1 (Universal)
Commit: 0f0d87fa9e96c856c5212fc86db137ac0d783365
Date: 2025-09-17T23:36:24.973Z
Electron: 37.3.1
ElectronBuildId: 12404162
Chromium: 138.0.7204.235
Node.js: 22.18.0
V8: 13.8.258.31-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.1.0

i am also facing the same issue.. i am not getting nodejs error but it is just stuck and not responding. however for me also it is working from terminal

hey @ccmQuQmccc, is this consistently reproducible? if you start a new chat, does it get stuck in loading state still?

This is consistently reproducible for me on VSCode with the 2.0.0 extension, I've been experiencing a similar issue with Zed's Claude Code integration on Windows, though I was attributing that to a Windows Beta bug on their end...

Downgrading to extension version 1.0.127 fixes the issue, though it loses the new UX. I don't have the same issue on my Macbook

Thanks @esimkowitz

For those who are experiencing this, is this happening on Windows or are you on another OS? Let us know if you are seeing this on Mac or Linux!

After looking at the Claude logs, I think I've identified the issue. The Windows-MCP server process keeps crashing and taking down the Claude Code process with it. If I delete the Windows-MCP server from my machine I don't encounter the issue anymore on VSCode.

I still can't get the Zed integration working but that's likely a different issue, I'll create an issue on them to address this.

This is on mac for me

Thanks @esimkowitz For those who are experiencing this, is this happening on Windows or are you on another OS? Let us know if you are seeing this on Mac or Linux!

thanks @esimkowitz !

@VPN-Official and @cccmQuQmccc - what MCP servers do you have installed? Currently, for the VSCode extension, we wait on MCP servers to connection before responding, which may be one of the causes for the lack/slowness in initial response

I'm also on a Mac and experiencing this issue. No MCP servers installed. I also had to downgrade to 1.0.127 to use the tool. 2.0.0 is still not working though.

@simplyandyg - you should still be able to use Claude Code in the terminal with 2.0.0 by running claude in the VSCode terminal, without needing to downgrade.

If you can also provide some extra info, that would be helpful for us to debug and track down this issue!

• What OS are you running on?
• If at all possible, it would be helpful if you can share the logs. They should be accessible in the bottom panel, under Output, and Claude VSCode in the dropdown

Thanks for any help you can provide!

!Image

I'm on MacOS Sequoia 15.6.1

Here are the logs:

2025-09-29 16:31:06.524 [warning] Channel not found: rptfvfet42n
2025-09-29 16:41:15.286 [info] Claude code extension is now active?
2025-09-29 16:41:15.286 [info] MCP Server running on port 13371 (localhost only)
2025-09-29 16:42:08.924 [info] AuthManager initialized
2025-09-29 16:42:09.460 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"ox16sh8ca6","request":{"type":"init"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.641 [info] Getting authentication status
2025-09-29 16:42:09.641 [info] API key found in macOS keychain
2025-09-29 16:42:09.641 [info] Keychain credentials read failed
2025-09-29 16:42:09.641 [info] Auth status: method=api-key
2025-09-29 16:42:09.646 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"l5qwil1c98","request":{"type":"rename_tab","title":"Claude Code"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.646 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"n5lwkt4we1d","request":{"type":"get_claude_state"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.649 [info] Loading config cache by launching Claude...
2025-09-29 16:42:09.649 [error] Failed to load config cache: Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.
2025-09-29 16:42:09.649 [error] Error processing client request: Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.
2025-09-29 16:42:09.649 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"ewyd8c88z0b","request":{"type":"get_current_selection"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.649 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"s77kq6iefrs","request":{"type":"get_asset_uris"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.650 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"hpzycprvqwr","request":{"type":"list_sessions_request"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.650 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"5l2t8glwf58","request":{"type":"list_sessions_request"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.651 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"did8ze0kqzn","request":{"type":"list_sessions_request"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.651 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"fqrype026jw","request":{"type":"rename_tab","title":"Claude Code"}}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.651 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"launch_claude","channelId":"lbvejfjhbd","cwd":"/Users/agiroux/git-repos/dev/hd/product-manager","model":"default","permissionMode":"default"}
2025-09-29 16:42:09.653 [info] Launching Claude on channel: lbvejfjhbd
2025-09-29 16:42:09.653 [info] Closing Claude on channel: lbvejfjhbd
2025-09-29 16:42:09.653 [error] Error spawning Claude (on channel lbvejfjhbd): Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.
2025-09-29 16:42:09.655 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"interrupt_claude","channelId":"n5lwkt4we1d"}

Thanks for the quick response! Let me know if there's anything else i can do to help

also if it's helpful - node version output:

[~]$ node --version
v24.6.0

I have the same error as simplyandyg. Same os MacOS Sequoia 15.6.1

Thanks - the output logs are super helpful, we're actively investigating now!

Is this about node being installed via homebrew/asdf? Without sourcing my bashrc, homebrew/asdf path will not be in my path. Maybe a setting to provide a path to node would help?

My logs of the same situation on osx:

2025-09-29 21:35:25.732 [info] Claude code extension is now active?
2025-09-29 21:35:25.732 [info] MCP Server running on port 13695 (localhost only)
2025-09-29 21:35:25.732 [info] AuthManager initialized
2025-09-29 21:35:25.732 [info] AuthManager initialized
2025-09-29 21:35:25.994 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"29b62t4syrs","request":{"type":"init"}}
2025-09-29 21:35:26.102 [info] Getting authentication status
2025-09-29 21:35:26.102 [info] Keychain read failed, trying file fallback
2025-09-29 21:35:26.102 [info] OAuth tokens found in secure storage
2025-09-29 21:35:26.102 [info] Auth status: method=claudeai
2025-09-29 21:35:26.104 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"c20yuivenjj","request":{"type":"init"}}
2025-09-29 21:35:26.179 [info] Getting authentication status
2025-09-29 21:35:26.179 [info] Keychain read failed, trying file fallback
2025-09-29 21:35:26.179 [info] OAuth tokens found in secure storage
2025-09-29 21:35:26.179 [info] Auth status: method=claudeai
2025-09-29 21:35:26.185 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"268r2i1izx3","request":{"type":"rename_tab","title":"Claude Code"}}
2025-09-29 21:35:26.185 [info] Received message from webview: {"type":"request","requestId":"vl44fj7vwnl","request":{"type":"get_claude_state"}}
2025-09-29 21:35:26.186 [info] Loading config cache by launching Claude...
2025-09-29 21:35:26.186 [error] Failed to load config cache: Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.
2025-09-29 21:35:26.186 [error] Error processing client request: Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.

Quick update: we are currently leaning towards the env variables being different as the main cause. As @sandipb mentioned, VSCode may not pick up the same env vars as in the shell, and it might not have the correct path.

If you start VSCode from the command line (by opening a terminal/shell, and then typing code), it should start VSCode and pick up the correct path. We are exploring other options to get the correct path when starting VSCode using other means

Actually I did try that. I quit vscode. In the terminal, I confirmed that "node --version" worked. Ran code from the same terminal, but it still gave the same error as node version. I think that Mac apps (as opposed to gui apps running as child processes of the terminal shell) run in an independent environment instance without reading the shell init files.

Also, I thought claude code now has a native binary, why does it need node at all?

Just to add my $0.02, I had the same problem with the same logs. I did two things, so I'm not sure what fixed it. First, I ran claude from the terminal, and it started up fine. Then, I restarted VS Code from a terminal using code, and after doing that, the Claude Code extension (with the new UI) loaded just fine. And, may I say, it looks pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I don't want to have to start code from the terminal each time, so fixing this would be amazing.

@hackyon-anthropic So, this might help in your investigation. I was getting the VS code error "Unable to resolve your shell environment in a reasonable time" on startup, and then initializing Claude Code was failing. I don't have a default installation of Node on my machine. All installations are done through NVM, so if the shell environment doesn't resolve properly, then it probably DOES look like I don't have a version of Node.js installed. I went into VS Code, bumped the resolution setting from 10 seconds (the default) to 20 seconds, restarted VS Code, and I did NOT get the VS Code error, and Claude Code started up with no issues.

I'm not familiar with the internals of VS Code, so I don't know what to suggest to fix it. Perhaps checking the environment, and then re-sourcing the correct .zshrc/.bashrc/.othershellofsomekindrc file before attempting to launch things? Does VS Code have a hook or variable that indicates whether shell environment resolution was successful? Not sure, just throwing out a few ideas (which may or may not be helpful).

Anyway, with that change, I'm back up and running.

same issue

Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher to be installed.

@hackyon-anthropic

Quick update: we are currently leaning towards the env variables being different as the main cause. As @sandipb mentioned, VSCode may not pick up the same env vars as in the shell, and it might not have the correct path. If you start VSCode from the command line (by opening a terminal/shell, and then typing code), it _should_ start VSCode and pick up the correct path. We are exploring other options to get the correct path when starting VSCode using other means

Hello this solution worked for me with VS Code and with Cursor IDE if you run cursor on the terminal. Thanks!
Hope you guys find a solution for this. This is a great tool and can replace Cursor IDE for me :)

@hackyon-anthropic I am seeing the crashing happen again, looking at the VSCode extension logs, I think there's a Windows file path casing issue. It's looking for sessions in C:\Users\<name>\.claude\projects\c--Users-<sanitized-path-to-cwd> but I saw inconsistent casing in the ~\.claude\projects directory. Some start with C--... and others start with c--.... If I correct these to what the extension is looking for, then everything works as expected.

It might be worth doing a case-insensitive directory search to fail gracefully. It should also fail gracefully if the path truly doesn't exist.

Also, I don't think the sanitizing for the paths is enough. You're gonna get conflicts between path\to\dashed-folder and path\to\dashed\folder. Definitely an edge case, but still.

@hackyon-anthropic
Yes, this is consistently reproducible. Starting a new chat still gets stuck at "Synthesizing..." - the issue occurs every time.

System Information:

• OS: Windows 10 Home (Version 2009, 64-bit)
• IDE: VS Code 1.104.2 (x64)
• Node.js: v22.14.0
• npm: 10.9.2
• Python: 3.12.7
• Claude Code Plugin: v2.0.0

Issue Behavior:

• Every new chat session gets stuck in "Synthesizing..." state
• No response is ever generated

It seems the workaround of running VS code from the command line with code is work for some, but it did not work for me on MacOS Sequoia 15.6.1

Same issue with macOS 26 and Cursor Version: 1.7.28 (Universal), VSCode Version: 1.99.3

Claude VSCode.log

@hackyon-anthropic
Active MCP Servers:

• Context7
• Puppeteer
• Filesystem
• Excel

@hackyon-anthropic

Status Update:

• Downgraded to v1.0.127 ✅
• "Synthesizing..." issue resolved ✅
• Plugin now responds normally

Issue confirmed in v2.0.0+, not present in v1.0.127.

Updated VSCode extension to 2.0.5 but the issue still remain. It's been a few days, a kind of P1 issue.

We've been investigating this issue, but it's likely there are several root causes. We added additional logging to v2.0.5, and hoping some of those who were affected can share for debugging!

It is accessible in Claude-code: Show Logs in the VSCode command palette.

For those who are affected, Claude Code with the previous IDE integration is still fully accessible as before if you were to run it in the built-in VSCode terminal (by opening it and typing in claude)

Also, with v2.0.5, we added a VS Code Use Terminal setting that you can use to override the button so it opens up in the terminal instead of the new UI

Thanks @cccmQuQmccc . We suspect that one of those MCP servers may be unresponsive or broken and causing the extension to stall. We are looking to implement a more graceful MCP fallback logic to handle these cases.

Unsure if this will help everyone, but I was able to work around this issue by setting the user environment variable CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH in my system settings so it was available to VS Code. Extension works like a charm now (mostly 😉)

@hackyon-anthropic 2.0.5 is working for me! Thanks!

Still not working for me. Note that while Claude Code running in Terminal in VSCode is at 2.0.5, the extension still shows the latest version as 2.0.1.

Claude VSCode.log

Same issue with macOS 26 and Cursor Version: 1.7.28 (Universal), VSCode Version: 1.99.3 Claude VSCode.log

Funny enough, i logged in claude.ai in the web and had to consent with new terms of service. Coincidence or not, when I jumped back to Visual Studio after restarting, the error was gone from the plugin.

claude.ai

that fixed it for me too. thanks!

Funny enough, i logged in claude.ai in the web and had to consent with new terms of service. Coincidence or not, when I jumped back to Visual Studio after restarting, the error was gone from the plugin.

You are a gem. Thank you !!!

Funny enough, i logged in claude.ai in the web and had to consent with new terms of service. Coincidence or not, when I jumped back to Visual Studio after restarting, the error was gone from the plugin.

This worked for me in Cursor! Thank you.

Any updates on this? It happened to me a couple of times today. I re-signed up for my account recently so I haven't seen any updated TOS on claude.ai.

My experience is that it hangs on "Clauding..." (or whatever), and the animation is still going, but no visual response and the stop button doesn't do anything. I have Context7 and Linear MCP servers installed.

If I enabled auto-accept edits the work continues in the background though -- if I look at my Git changed files, they continue to be modified even while the UI is stuck.

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