Memory leak: Claude process using 304GB+ memory

<img width="891" height="67" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/319fc0c5-348a-4d90-9ef5-906fad155835" />

Bug Description

Claude Code process is consuming an extreme amount of memory (304.17GB) on a 64GB RAM system, causing severe system slowdown and excessive swap usage (19.63GB).

Environment

• Claude Code Version: 2.1.3
• OS: macOS Darwin 24.3.0 (Apple Silicon)
• Physical RAM: 64GB
• Node.js: (via Homebrew Caskroom)

Symptoms

• Single claude process using 304.17GB memory
• Multiple additional claude processes (631MB, 461MB, 460MB, 334MB, 285MB)
• System swap usage: 19.63GB
• CPU usage: 99.91%
• System becomes unresponsive

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Claude Code CLI
2. Have a long session with multiple file edits and code refactoring
3. Memory usage grows unbounded over time

Screenshots

Activity Monitor showing claude process at 304.17GB:

• Used memory: 55.96GB (of 64GB physical)
• Swap used: 19.63GB
• Compressed: 33.04GB

Expected Behavior

Memory usage should remain reasonable and not exceed available physical RAM.

Workaround

pkill -9 claude

Additional Context

This occurred during a code refactoring session involving multiple file reads, edits, and grep operations across a Go backend codebase (~33 modules).