[BUG] Claude Desktop freezes (spinning pinwheel) on Code tab and mic permission prompt on macOS 26.5.2 — reproduces in brand-new macOS user account

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?

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop becomes completely unresponsive (spinning rainbow pinwheel, nothing clickable, must force quit) whenever the Code tab opens or when the app attempts to show the macOS microphone permission prompt. Because the app relaunches into the Code tab from the last session, it now freezes immediately on launch and regular chat is unreachable.

The freeze reproduces in a brand-new macOS user account on the same machine, so it is not caused by my user account's local state.

The Claude Code CLI works perfectly in Terminal on the same machine and account (claude doctor reports "No installation issues found").

Environment

• macOS: 26.5.2 (build 25F84)
• Mac: MacBook Pro (MacBookPro17,1), Apple M1, 16GB RAM
• Free disk space: ~141GB
• Claude account: Pro
• Claude Code CLI: v2.1.228 (working normally in Terminal)
• No antivirus, VPN, or endpoint security software installed

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Claude Desktop.
2. Open the Code tab (or, previously, click the microphone button in a chat, which triggers the macOS mic permission request).
3. App shows the spinning pinwheel, entire UI becomes unresponsive, force quit required.
4. Reproduces 100% of the time.

Troubleshooting Already Performed (none resolved it)

1. Restarted the Mac.
2. Force quit and relaunched repeatedly.
3. Fully removed and reinstalled Claude Desktop from a fresh installer.
4. Reset app data: renamed ~/Library/Application Support/Claude and let the app create a fresh folder. Still freezes.
5. Renamed ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json (CLI config) to rule out shared-state conflict with the CLI. Still freezes.
6. Checked for ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/vm_bundles to clear the VM bundle: the folder does not exist, suggesting the app hangs before VM bundle creation.
7. Created a brand-new macOS user account (Standard), launched Claude Desktop there with no dev tools or config: freezes identically in the fresh account.
8. Ran tccutil reset Microphone com.anthropic.claudefordesktop (succeeded). Clicking the mic button then froze the app before the macOS permission prompt appeared; Claude never appears in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, so macOS never receives the request.

Logs

~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log shows a clean startup with no errors: blocklist fetch, growthbook, SkillsPlugin (6 skills), remote-tools-device DO bridge connect, then logging simply stops at the moment of the freeze. Notable line: [download:1] Resuming: 10163678/62204737 bytes already on disk. Two [warn] Blocked permission check { permission: 'background-sync' ... } entries appear but are present on every launch.

Happy to attach full logs or a process sample from Activity Monitor on request.

What Should Happen

Code tab should open (or fail gracefully) without deadlocking the whole app, and the mic button should trigger the macOS permission prompt without freezing.

Possibly Related Issues

#53689 (closed as not planned, matches closely), #32225, #47644, #50627, #26087, #23830

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop should open the Code tab (or fail gracefully with an error) without deadlocking the entire app, and clicking the mic button should show the macOS microphone permission prompt without freezing. Regular chat should remain usable.

Error Messages/Logs

~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log shows a clean startup with no errors, then logging simply stops at the moment of the freeze. Notable line: [download:1] Resuming: 10163678/62204737 bytes already on disk. Claude never appears in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, so macOS never receives the mic permission request before the hang.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Claude Desktop on macOS 26.5.2 (MacBook Pro M1, 16GB).
2. Open the Code tab, or click the microphone button in a chat.
3. App shows the spinning pinwheel, entire UI becomes unresponsive, force quit required.
4. Reproduces 100% of the time, including in a brand-new macOS user account, after full reinstall, and after resetting all app data.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.228 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_

PID   STAT  %CPU %MEM ELAPSED
20362 S      0.0  1.8   17:37

Call graph:
    3784 Thread_220024   DispatchQueue_1: com.apple.main-thread  (serial)
    + 3784 completeTaskWithClosure(swift::AsyncContext*, swift::SwiftError*)
            (in libswift_Concurrency.dylib) + 1  [0x2b8d67d41]
    +   3784 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x161764000 + 0x67fb1
    +     3784 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x161764000 + 0xd2959

2026-09-17 22:51:12 [info] Media permission probe {
  result: 'granted', via: 'media_access_check', captureKind: 'audio',
  requestingSite: 'claude', requestingOrigin: 'https://claude.ai',

    3018 Thread_245188   DispatchQueue_1: com.apple.main-thread  (serial)
    + 3018 completeTaskWithClosure(swift::AsyncContext*, swift::SwiftError*)
            (in libswift_Concurrency.dylib) + 1  [0x2b8d67d41]
    +   3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0x67fb1
    +     3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0xd2959
    +       3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0xdb2a1
    +         3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0xd94b5
    +           3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0x6b551
    +             3018 ???  (in swift_addon.node)  load address 0x1340fc000 + 0x6a1d1