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Claude CLI processes not terminating when terminal closes #20599
Description
Description
Claude CLI processes continue running after the user closes or disconnects from the terminal, leading to significant memory accumulation over time.
Observed Behavior
- User closes terminal tab, Ctrl+C, or terminal disconnects
- Claude process continues running in background as orphan
- Process holds onto memory (600MB-3GB per session)
- Over days/weeks, multiple orphaned sessions accumulate
Evidence
On a system running for ~2 weeks, found 11 orphaned Claude sessions consuming ~10GB RAM:
PID: 1729372 | TTY: pts/27 | Started: Jan19 | Mem: 0.7%
PID: 1895002 | TTY: ? | Started: Jan20 | Mem: 0.4%
PID: 3047777 | TTY: ? | Started: Jan21 | Mem: 0.5%
PID: 3502757 | TTY: pts/12 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 3.0%
PID: 3543434 | TTY: pts/13 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 2.3%
PID: 3601287 | TTY: pts/21 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 2.1%
PID: 3787540 | TTY: ? | Started: Jan23 | Mem: 1.6%
PID: 3955594 | TTY: pts/49 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 1.4%
PID: 3959187 | TTY: pts/50 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 2.4%
PID: 3960252 | TTY: pts/51 | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 0.9%
PID: 3963043 | TTY: ? | Started: Jan22 | Mem: 0.9%
Processes with TTY: ? had already lost their controlling terminal but were still running.
Expected Behavior
When the controlling terminal is closed or sends SIGHUP, the Claude process should:
- Detect the terminal disconnection
- Clean up resources
- Terminate gracefully
Environment
- OS: Linux 6.14.0-37-generic
- Claude CLI version: 2.1.17
Workaround
Users can manually clean up with:
pkill -f "claude"Or check for orphaned processes:
pgrep -a claudeSuggested Fix
Implement proper signal handling for:
- SIGHUP (terminal hangup)
- SIGPIPE (broken pipe)
- Monitor stdin/tty availability and exit if lost
Activity
github-actions commentedon Jan 24, 2026
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
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github-actions commentedon Jan 29, 2026
This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #17391.
If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
github-actions commentedon Feb 6, 2026
This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.