Regression ~2PM CST Dec 5: Aggressive credit consumption during background task polling

[pduggusa]

Summary

Starting approximately 2:00 PM CST on December 5, 2025, Claude Code began exhibiting degraded behavior with aggressive credit consumption during background task monitoring.

Observed Behavior Changes (Post ~2PM CST)

1. Constant BashOutput polling - Every 2-3 seconds during background tasks
2. Each poll consuming credits - Even with no new output
3. Protocol failures - Not following established patterns, forgetting context
4. User reports: "credits are being consumed like you are fucking hand knitting"

Previous Behavior (Pre ~2PM CST)

• Background tasks ran with minimal credit drain
• Polling was efficient
• Protocol adherence was consistent

Technical Context

• Task: Docker buildx cross-platform build (ARM Mac → linux/amd64)
• Image size: 122MB (not large)
• Build completed all 33 steps successfully
• Got stuck polling step #34 "sending tarball" repeatedly
• User had to intervene to stop the polling loop

Impact

• HIGH severity - Breaks normal CI/CD workflows
• Makes long-running builds cost-prohibitive
• Degraded reasoning/protocol adherence observed simultaneously

Environment

• Claude Code CLI
• macOS (darwin)
• Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101

Timeline

• ~2:00 PM CST: Behavior change observed
• ~3:12 PM CST: User escalated
• Issue duration: 1+ hour before user intervention

Question

Was there a deployment or change around 2:00 PM CST (8:00 PM UTC) on December 5, 2025 that could explain this regression?

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Reported by user, filed by Claude Code

[grandtheftdisco]

⭐ TIPS: I've been browsing similar area:cost issues re: Claude this morning and have gathered a few tips in one place. These don't fix the issue entirely but they've helped cut down my usage in the interim: hope these help someone!

1. direct Claude to not use Task feature, and to use utility tools for common tasks. Add –no-agent flag to your prompt as well (several users reporting that Claude is recruiting subagents without disclosing this to the user)

• ie “ --no-agent for the remainder of our work in this session. DO NOT use the Task tool. Use Grep to find files, Read to check them, and Edit to fix them directly."

2. use /config in the CLI to disable auto-compact, as this is another source of token overconsumption

If anyone else finds ways to reduce token consumption while we wait, feel free to share! 👍