[BUG] WebSearch tool frequently hangs/gets stuck, requiring manual interruption

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?

Description:

WebSearch calls frequently get stuck during multi-step research tasks, forcing manual interruption via the stop button.

Observed behavior:

When Claude Code performs multiple sequential WebSearch/WebFetch calls (e.g., researching a technical topic), it often hangs indefinitely on one of the calls
The "????" indicator appears and no progress is made
User must manually interrupt ("Tool interrupted"), after which Claude acknowledges and retries
Sometimes happens again on the retry, requiring multiple interruptions
Eventually succeeds after interruption + retry cycle, but wastes significant time

What Should Happen?

Expected behavior:

WebSearch should complete or timeout gracefully within a reasonable window (e.g., 15-30 seconds)
If a search fails, Claude should automatically retry or fall back without requiring user intervention
Environment:

OS: Windows 11 Pro (Build 26200)
Claude Code: VSCode extension
Model: Claude Opus 4.6
Context usage at time of issue: ~95% (high context may be a factor)
Frequency: Happens frequently -- nearly every session involving web research with 3+ consecutive searches.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce:

Open Claude Code in VSCode extension
Ask a research-heavy question that requires multiple web lookups (e.g., "Research how to optimize TDL collection FETCH performance in Tally Prime")
Claude initiates 3-5+ sequential WebSearch/WebFetch calls
Observe that one of the calls hangs indefinitely -- the spinner/progress indicator shows no movement and no result is returned
Wait 2+ minutes -- no timeout or auto-recovery occurs
Manually click the Stop button to interrupt
Claude acknowledges the interruption and retries the search
Issue may recur on the very next WebSearch call in the same session
Additional observations:

More likely to occur when context usage is high (90%+)
Seems worse with back-to-back WebSearch calls (3+ in sequence)
WebFetch (direct URL) appears to hang less often than WebSearch (keyword query), but both are affected
Single isolated WebSearch calls seem to work fine -- the issue surfaces during sequential multi-search flows

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

4.6

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

_No response_