Slow startup on Windows with Git Bash - Shell snapshot creation hangs

[ghbaud]

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 (MINGW64_NT-10.0-26200)
• Claude Code version: v2.1.2
• Shell: Git Bash (C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe)
• Terminal: Both Git Bash and PowerShell affected

Problem

Claude Code takes 1-2 minutes before the input prompt becomes active. The UI renders quickly (banner and input box appear within 15-20 seconds), but the input box does not accept keystrokes for an additional 1-2 minutes. Often the input never becomes active and the session must be cancelled.

Root Cause (from debug logs)

The shell snapshot creation process hangs for 30+ seconds and is eventually killed by timeout (SIGTERM):

2026-01-09T02:17:57.459Z [DEBUG] Creating shell snapshot for bash (C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe)
2026-01-09T02:17:57.900Z [DEBUG] Creating snapshot at: C:\Users\dhiteclaude\shell-snapshots\snapshot-bash-1767925077459-gd3ugp.sh
2026-01-09T02:18:30.688Z [DEBUG] Error details:
2026-01-09T02:18:30.688Z [DEBUG] - Error code: null
2026-01-09T02:18:30.688Z [DEBUG] - Error signal: SIGTERM
2026-01-09T02:18:30.688Z [DEBUG] - Error killed: true
2026-01-09T02:18:30.688Z [ERROR] Error: Error: Failed to create shell snapshot: Command failed: C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe -c -l SNAPSHOT_FILE='...'

This is a 33-second hang before the timeout kills the process.

Additionally, warmup subagents (Explore, Plan, Bash) fail with EPERM errors when trying to create symlinks:

2026-01-09T02:18:24.824Z [ERROR] Error: Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, symlink '...\subagents\agent-ab73cd8.jsonl' -> '...\tasks\ab73cd8.output'

Debug Log Timeline

Timestamp	Event	Duration
02:17:55.889Z	Startup begins	-
02:17:56.734Z	setup() completed	519ms
02:17:56.878Z	Commands loaded	144ms
02:17:57.459Z	Shell snapshot creation started	-
02:18:03.134Z	showSetupScreens() completed	6255ms
02:18:08.488Z	OAuth token check complete	5354ms
02:18:24.824Z	First EPERM symlink error	-
02:18:30.688Z	Shell snapshot SIGTERM (killed)	33 seconds

Total time before input active: 60+ seconds

What I've Tried

• Enabled Windows Developer Mode (for symlink permissions) - no effect
• Disabled autoConnectIde - no effect
• Removed SessionStart hooks - helped slightly but still slow
• Cleared shell-snapshots directory - recreated on next startup
• Tested in PowerShell instead of Git Bash - same issue

Network is Fine

$ curl -w "Time: %{time_total}s\n" -o /dev/null -s https://api.anthropic.com
Time: 0.073580s

Expected Behavior

Input prompt should become active within 10-15 seconds of startup, not 120+ seconds or never.

Suggested Fix

1. Shell snapshot creation on Windows/Git Bash should have a shorter timeout or be skipped if it fails quickly
2. Consider making shell snapshots optional or lazy-loaded
3. Symlink creation should fall back gracefully on Windows when EPERM occurs (or use file copies instead)

Workaround

None found. Removing Git from PATH did not help.