[BUG] Claude Code usage increases in an idle open session without new prompts
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?
<img width="767" height="382" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/689881e5-c138-45b3-a102-3a36b6f99878" />
<img width="836" height="412" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e858e376-8574-41a5-91f4-9704bc42a5b8" />
<img width="782" height="372" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/80cba855-78f3-41d7-9f1f-1600b09f1af5" />
Claude Code usage increases inside a single already-open CLI session even when I do not send new prompts.
Environment
• Claude Code CLI
• Session already open the whole time
• No new session opened
Repro steps
- Open a Claude Code CLI session.
- Leave it open.
- Check usage every few minutes without sending prompts.
- Observe usage increase over time.
Observed behavior
• Current session usage increased from 22% → 30% → 36%.[Anexo +2]
• Weekly usage also increased from 28% → 29% → 30%.[Anexo +2]
• The session summary stayed unchanged:
• Total cost: $199.05
• Total duration (API): 5h 27m 18s
• Total code changes: 438 lines added, 32 lines removed .[Anexo +2]
Expected behavior
Usage should not continue increasing when the session is idle and no new prompts are sent.
Attachments
• claude-session-jul29-01.37pm.jpeg
• claude-session-jul29-02.04pm.jpeg
• claude-session-jul29-03.35pm.jpeg
Question
Is this expected background usage, or is it a usage accounting bug? Is there a way to see what is consuming tokens in an idle session?
What Should Happen?
Usage should not continue increasing when the session is idle and no new prompts are sent.
Attachments
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
checking /usage periodically without not doing any work
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
2.1.220
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
_No response_
Showing cached comments. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗
3 Comments
Same here https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/81684
And technical support isn't responding!
It's outrageous to pay so much for a service and get no support.
Ok. Landed here after bumping from forum to forum, reddit to github. Everyone complaining and Anthropic not caring to answer.
Long story short I have the same issue. It's driving me mad. Claude usage just keeps increasing steadily until it hits the limits and iterates. I can sit watching it, doing nothing, no chat, no code, and the thing still fills that gauge up happily. Tried chat, email, technical support. No answer whatsoever. This is pure insanity.
Thanks for the detailed report — the numbers you captured are the most useful part of it.
I tried this on 2.1.233 (Linux): the released build installs and launches fine, but this environment has no subscription login, so the plan usage bars never load and I could not reproduce your exact readings.
The two blocks in
/usagemeasure different things. The session summary (total cost, API duration, lines changed) is scoped to the open CLI session on this machine. The "Current session" and "Current week" bars are your plan's 5-hour and 7-day usage windows for your account — reported by the server, and counting every Claude Code session, every machine you're signed in on, and Claude chat/Cowork if you're on a Team or Enterprise seat.So the bars climbing while your summary stays frozen at $199.05 / 5h 27m is consistent: that session sent nothing, but the account-level windows kept moving. Server-side accounting also lags, so a long heavy session can keep pushing the bars up for a while after you stop working. Background reading: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/costs#why-usage-climbs-in-a-long-session
We agree that "Current session" reading as "this CLI session" is confusing, and the docs don't currently spell out that the bars are account-wide — we're looking at both the label and the docs.
One thing that would help: if you're confident there was no other Claude activity anywhere on your account during that window, reply with roughly how long after your last prompt the 22% → 36% climb happened, and whether you're on a subscription or API billing (the bars only appear on subscription plans, but the report lists "Anthropic API").
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