Claude Code errors and slow responses: what to check
Claude Code not working or responding slowly? Check official status, API errors, login, network and local context before retrying.
Quick answer
If Claude Code is not working, first identify whether it cannot start, cannot sign in, returns an API error or is simply responding slowly. Compare the relevant official Claude component and collection time with the failed operation, then follow the matching check below. One slow session or failed request cannot establish a platform-wide outage.
1. Is Claude Code down? Check the matching report
Open the Claude service page and inspect the official component relevant to your operation. The saved platform report includes multiple products; an app incident does not automatically explain a Code failure. Read when the report was collected. Missing or stale data cannot establish current availability.
Identify your access path too: a Claude subscription, a direct API key, a cloud provider or a gateway. A report about Anthropic's direct service does not verify every cloud route, model or account. Record the failure time and exact message so you can compare them with a relevant incident.
2. Claude Code API errors: use the actual response
Keep the responding endpoint, error code and request ID when available. The same symptom can come from a provider or an intermediary. A connection failure without an HTTP response does not establish a 500 or 529 error.
| Message or response | Next check |
|---|---|
| 500 or another 5xx | Compare the relevant incident and endpoint. For a transient failure, allow limited retries with delays; check existing client retries first. |
| 429 or a usage-limit message | Read the named limit and reset information. A request limit, usage allowance or spend cap is not a platform-wide outage. |
| 529 / overloaded_error | Use the existing Claude 529 guide for overload evidence and bounded retries. |
| 401, 403 or a login loop | Check the active account, authentication method and required access before repeating the request. |
| Connection error or ENOTFOUND | Check the intended endpoint, DNS, proxy and firewall path from the environment running Claude Code. |
3. Claude Code slow or stuck: separate the waiting stages
Check whether the session is waiting for a model response, a command, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server or your input. In the session, /status shows version, model, account and connectivity; it is not the provider's global status page. /mcp opens the connected-server list. A failing external tool needs its own checks.
Use /context to inspect context usage. If the conversation has grown large, /compact summarizes it to free space. Preserve the task's requirements and review current work before starting over. If the interface hangs, Ctrl+C attempts to interrupt the running operation; after restarting, claude --resume lets you select an earlier conversation.
If resource use is high or the problem appears only with customizations, follow the official performance and configuration checks. claude --safe-mode starts a session without custom instructions, plugins, hooks and MCP servers while keeping normal authentication and permission behavior. Organization-managed settings and hooks still apply. Compare a small, controlled task; a changed result narrows the investigation but does not prove a service outage.
4. Claude Code not working: installation, login or network
Inside a working session, /doctor checks setup and proposes fixes for you to review before applying. If Claude Code cannot start, run claude doctor from your shell instead. Command availability and error wording can depend on your installed version and environment.
For login failures, use /status to check which account and authentication method are active. An approved ANTHROPIC_API_KEY can take precedence over subscription credentials; check whether it is configured without printing its value. Follow the official login instructions for that authentication path rather than assuming a subscription or API key is being used.
For connection or DNS errors, inspect the intended API host and the proxy or firewall settings used by that same shell or IDE. If an organization manages the network, use its approved configuration and support path. A browser loading the public Claude website does not reproduce the CLI's authenticated request.
5. Retry once you understand the failure
Claude Code can retry some failures automatically. Avoid stacking an unbounded restart or retry loop on top. For a transient request error, set a limited attempt and time budget; for access, billing or configuration failures, address the documented cause. For 529 details, continue with the existing overload guide.
If a response stops partway through, review the completed output and tool actions before resubmitting the task. Earlier file edits or external actions may already have happened. Save the version, failure time, access path, exact error and request ID when available for a support report. Remove API keys, tokens and private content from anything you share.
Related service pages
Each entry shows its own collection coverage. A linked service is not necessarily automatically collected.
Editorial review date applies to this guide. Live report collection times appear on the service pages.