[BUG] Claude Code VS Code extension causes complete macOS lockup from suspected memory exhaustion

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?

Summary

The native Claude Code extension for VS Code has caused my entire Mac to become unresponsive twice during normal coding sessions.

This is not Claude Code running inside the VS Code integrated terminal. I am using the native Claude Code extension panel provided by the official Anthropic VS Code extension.

The machine is a Mac Studio with an Apple M4 Max processor and 32 GB of unified memory. This hardware should have more than sufficient capacity for ordinary VS Code and Claude Code usage.

Memory saturation for VSCode reaches ~10GB and alonside other arbitrary usage the system becomes unresponsive until VSCode is forced closed.

Identifier
anthropic.claude-code
Version
2.1.268

The complete system lockup suggests either:

• Unbounded memory growth in the Claude Code extension or its bundled Claude process
• Excessive spawning or retention of Claude processes
• A leak within the VS Code extension host
• A subprocess, MCP server, hook, or tool launched by Claude Code consuming unbounded resources

Impact

This has occurred twice and resulted in:

• The entire macOS desktop becoming unresponsive
• Inability to close VS Code normally
• Inability to recover through ordinary application controls
• Loss of unsaved work
• A forced restart or forced termination being required

This is a critical stability issue rather than ordinary high memory usage and has happened twice this week.

Environment

• Hardware: Apple Mac Studio
• Processor: Apple M4
• Memory: 32 GB unified memory
• Operating system: macOS
• Editor: Visual Studio Code
• Extension: Official Claude Code extension by Anthropic
• Extension identifier: anthropic.claude-code
• Interface used: Native Claude Code VS Code extension panel
• Integrated terminal CLI: Not the affected interface

What Should Happen?

Normal usage and memory management

Error Messages/Logs

Will paste if it happens again

Steps to Reproduce

Use Claude Code VSCode extension

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

Don't know

Claude Code Version

2.1.268

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_