[BUG] Unexpected token usage spike and continued consumption while Claude Code is inactive

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

For about one week, my Claude Code token consumption has increased dramatically and unexpectedly.

The most concerning part is that the usage appears to continue increasing even when I am no longer actively working with Claude Code. This makes the situation feel completely out of my control as a paying user.

I have tried to investigate this on my side as much as possible:

• checked my local setup
• reviewed my usage patterns
• stopped active work sessions
• verified that I was not intentionally running additional Claude Code tasks
• contacted Anthropic support multiple times

Despite this, I have not received a clear explanation, a real fix, or any convincing response that explains why my consumption keeps increasing.

Why this is serious

From a customer perspective, this feels like an abnormal billing/usage behavior. If tokens or usage credits are being consumed while the user is not actively working, that is a critical issue.

At minimum, Anthropic should provide:

• a clear explanation of what is consuming tokens
• detailed usage logs visible to the user
• a way to stop all background Claude Code activity
• confirmation whether this is a known issue
• reimbursement or credit correction if the usage is incorrect

Expected behavior

Token usage should only increase when Claude Code is actively processing user-requested work.

If background processes, retries, indexing, MCP calls, IDE extensions, or hidden sessions consume tokens, this must be clearly visible and controllable by the user.

Actual behavior

Usage has increased massively over the past week, and it appears to continue increasing even when I am not actively using Claude Code.

Support experience

I have reported this to Anthropic several times, but so far I have not received a meaningful answer or solution.

This is especially frustrating because the difference with ChatGPT/OpenAI usage transparency and reliability has become very noticeable. At this point, it is becoming hard to justify keeping an Anthropic subscription instead of switching to OpenAI.

Request

Please investigate this urgently and provide:

1. A detailed explanation of what caused the usage spike.
2. A way for users to audit token consumption by session/process/tool.
3. A way to stop any background usage immediately.
4. Confirmation whether other users are affected.
5. A billing/credit review for affected accounts.

What Should Happen?

With my Claude Max subscription at $200/month, I should be able to work comfortably, as I was able to do before.

Until about a week ago, the usage limits felt reasonable and I could use Claude Code for my normal development workflow without major interruptions.

Now, despite using the same subscription and similar work patterns, I am being blocked by limits 3 to 4 times per week. This prevents me from working properly.

Expected behavior:

• Token usage should match my actual active work.
• Usage should not continue increasing when I am no longer using Claude Code.
• A $200/month Claude Max subscription should provide enough capacity for a normal professional development workflow.
• If limits or token accounting changed recently, Anthropic should clearly communicate what changed.
• Users should have clear visibility into what consumes tokens and why they are being rate-limited.

Error Messages/Logs

no msg

Steps to Reproduce

This issue is related to account-level token usage / rate-limit behavior, so I cannot provide a minimal code example that reproduces it independently.

Steps observed on my account:

1. Use Claude Code normally with a Claude Max $200/month subscription.
2. Work with a similar development workflow as before: same machine, same projects, same type of tasks.
3. Stop active Claude Code work sessions.
4. Wait and monitor the usage / remaining limit.
5. Observe that token usage appears to continue increasing even when I am no longer actively using Claude Code.
6. Resume normal work later in the week.
7. Hit usage limits much more frequently than before, around 3 to 4 times per week.

Before this issue started, the same subscription and similar usage pattern allowed me to work comfortably. Since about one week ago, I am frequently blocked by limits and can no longer work normally.

Because the behavior depends on account usage accounting and possibly background Claude Code processes, Anthropic may need to inspect server-side usage logs to reproduce and diagnose it.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.165 (Claude Code)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

_No response_