Fixing Claude Code Crashes On Windows ARM64 (ACCESS_VIOLATION)

Understanding the Claude Code ACCESS_VIOLATION on Windows ARM64

Have you ever encountered your favorite AI tool, Claude Code, unexpectedly crashing, especially on a Windows ARM64 device like a Surface Pro 11? You’re not alone. This article dives deep into a specific and frustrating issue: the dreaded ACCESS_VIOLATION (error code 0xC0000005) that causes Claude Code to crash silently on Windows ARM64 systems. For many users leveraging the cutting-edge performance of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, encountering such a fundamental instability can be a significant roadblock to productivity. We’ll explore what this crash means, why it’s particularly challenging on ARM64 architecture, and what steps are being taken – or need to be taken – to resolve it. The core problem here is a memory access violation, where the application tries to access a memory location it doesn't have permission to, leading to an immediate shutdown. This isn't just a minor glitch; it's a critical stability issue that prevents Claude Code from functioning at all for a segment of its potential user base. The promise of AI tools like Claude Code lies in their accessibility and reliability across various platforms, and a crash of this nature directly contradicts that vision. Understanding this problem is the first step towards finding a solution, ensuring that Windows ARM64 users can fully harness the power of AI assistance. This type of ACCESS_VIOLATION often points to deep-seated compatibility challenges, perhaps within the underlying runtime, dependent libraries, or even the way Claude Code interacts with the operating system's memory management on a non-x86/x64 architecture. For those of us relying on Claude Code for development, content creation, or analysis, seeing it fail within seconds of launch is a significant impediment. It's a clear signal that the world of AI software needs to keep pace with the evolving hardware landscape, especially with the increasing adoption of efficient ARM-based processors in laptops and tablets. This isn't just about a bug; it's about ensuring future-proof access to powerful AI capabilities.

Diving Deep into the Crash: What We Know About Claude Code on ARM64

Let's get into the nitty-gritty of the problem. The core issue, as reported by users, is that Claude Code crashes silently about 11 seconds after launch with an exit code of 0xC0000005, indicating a STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION. This specific behavior has been observed on a detailed environment: Claude Code Version 2.0.60 running on Windows 11 ARM64 (Build 26200, version 25H2 Insider Preview) on a Surface Pro 11 device, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon ARMv8 (64-bit) processor with 16GB of memory. What makes this particularly vexing is that only specific functionalities trigger the crash. Commands like claude doctor, claude auth status, and claude --version work perfectly fine, suggesting that the core executable and basic functionalities are compatible. However, attempts to engage with Claude Code for actual processing – such as claude -p "say hello" or simply launching it in interactive mode (claude) – lead directly to the silent crash. This indicates that the problem lies specifically in the parts of the application responsible for heavy lifting, potentially involving dynamic code execution, model loading, or complex memory operations. Process monitoring before the crash provides further clues: threads suddenly drop from 25 to 1, and memory usage, after peaking at 510MB, drops to 450MB, all at the moment of the crash. Crucially, there's no stdout/stderr output captured, which means the application fails before it can log any error messages to the console, making direct debugging challenging. The fact that this has "never worked" (as stated in the original report) for Claude Code on Windows ARM64 is a strong indicator that this isn't a regression, but rather a fundamental compatibility issue or a lack of native optimization for the ARM64 architecture. This isn't a problem that appeared after an update; it's a deep-seated challenge from the start. Developers at Anthropics (the creators of Claude Code) would need to carefully examine their underlying dependencies, JIT compilers, or any native modules to ensure they are properly compiled and linked for the ARM64 instruction set. The absence of error messages makes diagnostic files like claude_crash_report.json and claude_diagnostics.log absolutely crucial for developers to pinpoint the exact memory address and operation that triggered the violation. It's a classic case of an application expecting an x86/x64 environment and struggling to adapt its memory management and instruction execution to the distinct characteristics of ARM64, highlighting a critical need for dedicated AI tools optimization on this growing platform.

Why is Claude Code Crashing? Exploring Potential Causes and Technical Insights

So, why exactly is Claude Code crashing with an ACCESS_VIOLATION on Windows ARM64? This isn't a simple question, but we can explore several highly probable technical causes. An ACCESS_VIOLATION typically occurs when a program attempts to read from or write to a memory address that it doesn't have permission to access. On a system like a Surface Pro 11 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon ARMv8 processor, this can stem from a variety of factors unique to the architecture. Firstly, a major culprit could be incompatible libraries or dependencies. Many software applications, especially those developed for x86/x64 systems, rely on third-party libraries that might not have native ARM64 versions or are incorrectly linked. If Claude Code depends on a component (like a numerical computation library, a UI framework, or even a low-level system utility) that tries to execute x86 instructions on an ARM processor without proper emulation, or if its ARM64 version has a bug, it could lead to memory corruption or an ACCESS_VIOLATION. The lack of output before the crash suggests an early-stage failure, possibly during initialization of these critical components. Secondly, Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation issues could be at play. If Claude Code or its runtime environment dynamically generates machine code, the JIT compiler must be robustly designed for ARM64. Errors in code generation for the ARM instruction set could lead to invalid memory accesses when that generated code is executed. Given that only commands involving actual processing crash, this is a strong possibility. The dynamic nature of modern AI models often involves highly optimized operations that rely on native code execution, making this a sensitive area. Thirdly, pointer errors or memory management bugs within Claude Code's own codebase, specifically in sections dealing with large data structures or complex algorithms, might manifest differently on ARM64 compared to x86/x64. While good programming practices aim for platform independence, subtle differences in memory alignment, cache behavior, or even pointer arithmetic can expose bugs that remain hidden on other architectures. For instance, if the application is making assumptions about memory page sizes or virtual memory mappings that are true for x86 but not for ARM64, an ACCESS_VIOLATION could occur. Finally, issues with system-level integration or drivers on Windows ARM64 could contribute, although this is less likely for an application-specific crash. However, if Claude Code attempts to use specific hardware acceleration features (e.g., for AI model inference) that require particular ARM64 drivers or APIs not yet fully stable or implemented, it could lead to an issue. The