QGIS has some 'startup options' if started from the commandline. One I often use is the --lang nl one, to (temporarily) start QGIS in dutch to check for example what a menu looks like in dutch.
What is the bug or the crash? When trying to export a layout from python standalone exportToImage does not produce any output. I have tried witht the pdf option (exportToPdf) and it works as expected.