[Bug] Marketplace config JSON parsing hangs on empty files without error handling - cannot start claude when this happens

[flexorRegev]

Bug Description Whenever a marketplaces.json or known_marketplaces.json is empty (not even {} ) - it causes claude to hang while trying to load with no error. the indication for that is when trying to reinstall you get this error: Setting up Claude Code... This error originated either by throwing inside of an async function without a catch block, or by rejecting a promise which was not handled with .catch(). The promise rejected with the reason: Error: Failed to load marketplace configuration: JSON Parse error: Unexpected EOF at y8 (/$bunfs/root/claude:144:60790) at y8 (/$bunfs/root/claude:144:60795) at v68 (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:5497) at v68 (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:6068) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:14831) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:15193) at A (/$bunfs/root/claude:11:7245) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4558:4261) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4558:5417) at A (/$bunfs/root/claude:11:7245) This error originated either by throwing inside of an async function without a catch block, or by rejecting a promise which was not handled with .catch(). The promise rejected with the reason: Error: Failed to load marketplace configuration: JSON Parse error: Unexpected EOF at y8 (/$bunfs/root/claude:144:60790) at y8 (/$bunfs/root/claude:144:60795) at v68 (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:5497) at v68 (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:6068) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:14831) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4566:15193) at A (/$bunfs/root/claude:11:7245) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4558:4261) at (/$bunfs/root/claude:4558:5417) at A (/$bunfs/root/claude:11:7245)

Environment Info

• Platform: darwin
• Terminal: cursor
• Version: 2.1.9
• Feedback ID: 5951c4fb-1fb7-4733-8fd2-a1cc2b497793

Errors

[{"error":"Error: Failed to fetch version from https://storage.googleapis.com/claude-code-dist-86c565f3-f756-42ad-8dfa-d59b1c096819/claude-code-releases/latest: timeout of 30000ms exceeded\n    at yo7 (/$bunfs/root/claude:3353:2087)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T18:19:30.487Z"},{"error":"Error: {\"message\":\"Operation timed out.\",\"originalLine\":\"685\",\"originalColumn\":\"107215\",\"line\":\"685\",\"column\":\"107215\",\"sourceURL\":\"/$bunfs/root/claude\",\"stack\":\"Error: Operation timed out.\\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:107215)\",\"name\":\"Error\"}\n    at error (/$bunfs/root/claude:2354:25029)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36350)\n    at tVD (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36894)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:686:16930)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T18:19:30.489Z"},{"error":"Error: 1P event logging: 3 events failed to export\n    at queueFailedEvents (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:2081)\n    at async doExport (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:1259)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T18:19:30.582Z"},{"error":"Error: {\"message\":\"Failed to export 3 events\",\"originalLine\":\"691\",\"originalColumn\":\"1338\",\"line\":\"691\",\"column\":\"1338\",\"sourceURL\":\"/$bunfs/root/claude\",\"stack\":\"Error: Failed to export 3 events\\n    at doExport (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:1338)\\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)\",\"name\":\"Error\"}\n    at error (/$bunfs/root/claude:2354:25029)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36350)\n    at tVD (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36894)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:686:17366)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T18:19:30.582Z"},{"error":"Error: 1P event logging: 7 events failed to export\n    at queueFailedEvents (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:2081)\n    at async doExport (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:1259)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T18:33:37.559Z"},{"error":"Error: {\"message\":\"Failed to export 7 events\",\"originalLine\":\"691\",\"originalColumn\":\"1338\",\"line\":\"691\",\"column\":\"1338\",\"sourceURL\":\"/$bunfs/root/claude\",\"stack\":\"Error: Failed to export 7 events\\n    at doExport (/$bunfs/root/claude:691:1338)\\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)\",\"name\":\"Error\"}\n    at error (/$bunfs/root/claude:2354:25029)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36350)\n    at tVD (/$bunfs/root/claude:685:36894)\n    at <anonymous> (/$bunfs/root/claude:686:17366)\n    at processTicksAndRejections (native:7:39)","timestamp":"2026-01-17T1

Note: Error logs were truncated.

[github-actions[bot]]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/14360
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/14477
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/2810

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[AndresNamm]

Its not duplicate, this is different issue. Resolving when deleting the .claude\plugins\known_marketplaces.json

[ts-shu]

And notably claude on crashing can itself cause this corruption to the known_marketplaces.json because it uses a non-atomic write when writing to it, e.g.,

X = openSync(path, "w");
writeSync(X, content);
fsyncSync(X);
closeSync(X);

The openSync with mode "w" truncates the file to 0 bytes, if the process dies at that point, we get a 0-byte file