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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix claude.exe processes accumulate 50+GB virtual memory in long-running sessions (remoteControlAtStartup=true) [1 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#50718•Fetched 2026-04-20 12:14:59
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When remoteControlAtStartup is enabled, claude.exe processes started in separate terminals do not exit when their terminal is closed, and accumulate very large amounts of virtual memory over hours. On 2026-04-15 my system triggered Windows Resource-Exhaustion-Detector (Event ID 2004) six times between 22:06 and 01:45 with three orphaned claude.exe processes:

PIDVirtual Memory
18900~56 GB
37364~24 GB
14204~5 GB

Total: ~86 GB virtual memory across 3 processes. System pagefile is 96 GB so the machine did not crash, but other apps were affected (Chrome and PowerToys MouseWithoutBordersHelper crashed during the same window).

A fresh claude.exe started today already grew to ~12 GB virtual memory within 2.5 hours of normal use, suggesting steady growth rather than a single spike.

Root Cause

When remoteControlAtStartup is enabled, claude.exe processes started in separate terminals do not exit when their terminal is closed, and accumulate very large amounts of virtual memory over hours. On 2026-04-15 my system triggered Windows Resource-Exhaustion-Detector (Event ID 2004) six times between 22:06 and 01:45 with three orphaned claude.exe processes:

PIDVirtual Memory
18900~56 GB
37364~24 GB
14204~5 GB

Total: ~86 GB virtual memory across 3 processes. System pagefile is 96 GB so the machine did not crash, but other apps were affected (Chrome and PowerToys MouseWithoutBordersHelper crashed during the same window).

A fresh claude.exe started today already grew to ~12 GB virtual memory within 2.5 hours of normal use, suggesting steady growth rather than a single spike.

Fix Action

Workaround

Set "remoteControlAtStartup": false and use /exit to terminate sessions.

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Environment

  • Claude Code version: 2.1.114
  • OS: Windows 11 Pro (10.0.26200)
  • Node: bundled
  • Setting: "remoteControlAtStartup": true in ~/.claude.json

Summary

When remoteControlAtStartup is enabled, claude.exe processes started in separate terminals do not exit when their terminal is closed, and accumulate very large amounts of virtual memory over hours. On 2026-04-15 my system triggered Windows Resource-Exhaustion-Detector (Event ID 2004) six times between 22:06 and 01:45 with three orphaned claude.exe processes:

PIDVirtual Memory
18900~56 GB
37364~24 GB
14204~5 GB

Total: ~86 GB virtual memory across 3 processes. System pagefile is 96 GB so the machine did not crash, but other apps were affected (Chrome and PowerToys MouseWithoutBordersHelper crashed during the same window).

A fresh claude.exe started today already grew to ~12 GB virtual memory within 2.5 hours of normal use, suggesting steady growth rather than a single spike.

Reproduction

  1. Set "remoteControlAtStartup": true in ~/.claude.json (default for some users via the Remote Control rollout dialog).
  2. Open several claude sessions in separate terminals over the course of a day. Close terminals normally (Alt+F4 / X) without /exit.
  3. After several hours, check Get-Process claude | select VirtualMemorySize64 — orphan processes remain and VM grows continuously.

Expected

Either:

  • claude.exe exits when its parent terminal closes, OR
  • The Remote Control daemon stays as a single shared process, not one per ever-spawned terminal session, OR
  • VM stays bounded.

Actual

Each session leaves a long-lived claude.exe whose virtual memory keeps growing.

Workaround

Set "remoteControlAtStartup": false and use /exit to terminate sessions.

Notes

  • No outbound listening port observed on the host, so Remote Control appears to use an outbound websocket / relay.
  • --dangerously-skip-permissions is in use but should be unrelated.
  • Windows Event Viewer source: Microsoft-Windows-Resource-Exhaustion-Detector, Event ID 2004, naming claude.exe PIDs as the top virtual memory consumers.

extent analysis

TL;DR

Disabling "remoteControlAtStartup" or ensuring proper exit of claude.exe sessions can mitigate the virtual memory growth issue.

Guidance

  • Verify that disabling "remoteControlAtStartup" in ~/.claude.json resolves the issue, as suggested in the provided workaround.
  • When using Remote Control, ensure that claude.exe sessions are properly terminated with /exit to prevent orphaned processes.
  • Monitor virtual memory usage of claude.exe processes over time to detect any potential growth patterns.
  • Consider reviewing system resource utilization and adjusting settings to prevent similar resource exhaustion events in the future.

Example

No specific code snippet is applicable in this case, as the issue appears to be related to configuration and process management.

Notes

The provided workaround suggests that disabling Remote Control at startup or properly exiting sessions can mitigate the issue. However, the root cause of the virtual memory growth remains unclear, and further investigation may be necessary to fully resolve the problem.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by setting "remoteControlAtStartup": false and using /exit to terminate sessions, as this has been shown to mitigate the virtual memory growth issue.

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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix claude.exe processes accumulate 50+GB virtual memory in long-running sessions (remoteControlAtStartup=true) [1 participants]