Verbose command output can overwhelm session and consume excessive tokens
Resolved 💬 5 comments Opened Jan 24, 2026 by walkyri Closed Feb 27, 2026
Description
Verbose command output from long-running processes (e.g., Kopia backup progress) can overwhelm a Claude Code session, causing the interface to lock up and consuming excessive tokens.
Steps to Reproduce
- Run a backup command (e.g.,
kopia snapshot create) that outputs continuous progress updates - The terminal floods with thousands of lines like:
````
hashing, 8429 hashed (673.9 MB), 0 cached (0 B), uploaded 473.0 MB, estimating...
- Session becomes unresponsive; keyboard input locks up
- Token usage spikes significantly from processing all the output text
Expected Behavior
- Output should be rate-limited, truncated, or buffered to prevent session lockup
- Warning when command output exceeds a threshold
- Token consumption should be bounded for command output
Actual Behavior
- Session locks up completely
- All output text is processed, consuming tokens
- User must force-quit or switch to another terminal
Environment
- macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
- Claude Code CLI
- Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101
Workaround
Redirect verbose command output to a file:
command > /tmp/log.txt 2>&1 &
Suggestion
Consider implementing:
- Output truncation after a configurable threshold
- A warning when output volume is high
- Documentation noting the risk of verbose commands in-session
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