[BUG] Memory leak in Claude Code v2.1.72 — ArrayBuffers growing to 9.8GB at 50GB/hour on Windows

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?

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.72
• Node.js version: v24.3.0
• OS: Windows 11 (win32)
• Launch scope: Multi-project parent directory

Description

Claude Code exhibits a severe memory leak where memory grows at ~50 GB/hour,
primarily driven by ArrayBuffers never being released. The process becomes
unusable within minutes and risks crashing the system.

Memory Dump (manual trigger, ~4 minutes after launch)

{
"timestamp": "2026-03-12T05:00:09.265Z",
"sessionId": "6d9a052b-c5be-41e8-8648-4f1f0b68a564",
"uptimeSeconds": 259.26,
"memoryUsage": {
"heapUsed": 10212301077,
"heapTotal": 53487616,
"external": 10183522101,
"arrayBuffers": 9878130989,
"rss": 3783856128
},
"memoryGrowthRate": {
"bytesPerSecond": 14594914.54,
"mbPerHour": 50107.66
},
"v8HeapStats": {
"heapSizeLimit": 34011959296,
"mallocedMemory": 10220429445,
"peakMallocedMemory": 3790102528
}
}

Key Observations

• arrayBuffers reached 9.87 GB within ~4 minutes of launch
• external memory at 10.18 GB suggests large file contents buffered outside V8 heap
• Growth rate of 50,107 MB/hour will exhaust system RAM quickly
• heapUsed (10.2 GB) vastly exceeds heapTotal (53 MB) — unusual mismatch

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Claude Code from a parent directory containing multiple projects
2. Let it run idle for a few minutes
3. Observe memory usage in Task Manager or via memory dump

What I've Already Tried

• Added .claudeignore with **/node_modules/, **/obj/, **/bin/,

**/dist/, **/android/, **/ios/, and common binary file extensions

• Memory usage remained the same after .claudeignore was added
• Restarting the session temporarily resets memory but leak resumes immediately

Expected Behavior

Memory usage should stay in the 200–500 MB range during normal usage.

Actual Behavior

Memory grows at ~50 GB/hour driven by unreleased ArrayBuffers,
reaching 10+ GB within minutes.

Suspected Cause

Claude Code appears to be reading large files or streaming directory contents
into ArrayBuffers without releasing them, possibly during the initial
indexing/scanning phase when launched from a large multi-project directory.

11adc8b4-5a42-4155-b480-b0a95c4bb11e-diagnostics.json

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior

• Memory usage should stabilize between 200–500 MB after

initial directory indexing

• ArrayBuffers should be released after file scanning completes
• Memory growth rate should be negligible during idle sessions
• .claudeignore patterns should prevent excluded folders

from being buffered into memory entirely

Actual Behavior

• Memory never stabilizes — grows continuously even at idle
• ArrayBuffers reach 9.87 GB within ~4 minutes of launch
• External memory reaches 10.18 GB with no signs of release
• Growth rate of 50,107 MB/hour risks crashing the system
• .claudeignore has no measurable effect on memory consumption
• Total observed memory: ~23.9 GB reported in Task Manager

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Windows Terminal and navigate to a parent directory

containing multiple projects (e.g., C:\Users\<user>\projects)

1. Launch Claude Code from the parent directory:

   claude .

1. Let the session run idle — no prompts or commands needed
2. After ~2–4 minutes, observe memory usage in Task Manager

(search for node.exe)

1. Optionally trigger a manual memory dump to confirm:

• Look for the dump file in your Claude Code session directory

1. Observe arrayBuffers and external memory growing rapidly

with no upper bound

Additional Trigger Conditions

• Issue occurs even with a .claudeignore file present
• Issue reproduces on a fresh session immediately after restart
• No active prompts or file operations needed — leak occurs at idle

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.72

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

_No response_