[BUG] CRITICAL: Claude aborts code edits mid-process when tokens run out, leaving irreparably broken code

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

🚨 Whenever the model runs out of tokens during an answer, it abruptly stops editing code in the middle of the process, without warning, rollback, or any form of recovery. The result is partially edited, syntactically invalid, and completely unusable code.

This behavior is catastrophic in a code-editing context. An assistant that modifies files must never abandon an edit halfway through execution. Doing so actively corrupts the user’s codebase and can waste significant time or cause real damage in production environments.

This is not a minor UX issue — it is a fundamental reliability flaw.

Claude must not:

• Stop editing files mid-operation
• Leave code in an inconsistent or uncompilable state
• Abort silently due to token exhaustion

Explicitly refuse to start the edit if it cannot be completed safely

Allowing partial edits to be written and then abandoned is grossly negligent behavior for a coding agent. It breaks the core trust assumption that automated code tools must be safe by default.

It is genuinely alarming that this has not been addressed or reported earlier. In its current state, this behavior makes Claude unsafe for any non-trivial code editing workflow.

What Should Happen?

At an absolute minimum, the agent must:

• Finish the current edit atomically, or
• Revert all partial changes, or
• Explicitly refuse to start the edit if it cannot be completed safely

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Ask for anything that involves editing some files just before running out of tokens
2. Claude starts editing code normally.
3. Tokens run out? STOPS EDITING MID-PROCESS.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.20

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

This is the Claude Code for VS Code extension.