Repository navigation
[Bug] Excessive cache_read tokens consuming daily quota (95.3% of 33.2M tokens) #44494
Description
Bug: Interrupted session consumed 20.7M cache_read tokens with only 215 input tokens
Claude Code version: (check your version)
Platform: macOS (Apple Silicon M4 Pro)
Date observed: 2026-04-06
Summary
An interrupted session — first prompt was literally [Request interrupted by user for tool use] — consumed 20,751,058 cache_read tokens with only 215 input tokens and 0 subagents. The session was cancelled before doing any meaningful work.
Evidence
Audited using @kieranklaassen's token analysis script which reads JSONL logs from ~/.claude/projects/.
1-day report (2026-04-06):
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total main-session tokens | 33,209,206 |
cache_read |
31,661,943 (95.3%) |
input |
446 |
output |
122,930 |
| Subagent sessions | 16 (14,893,989 tokens) |
Offending session:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Session ID | 9579ff9b-78d2-45cd-a04d-3fdf1a7b9b57 |
| Started | 2026-04-06 18:07:47 |
| Total tokens | 21,208,123 |
input_tokens |
215 |
cache_read_input_tokens |
20,751,058 |
output_tokens |
42,801 |
| Subagents | 0 |
| First prompt | [Request interrupted by user for tool use] |
cache_read / input ratio: 96,517 : 1
Why this matters
A session that the user explicitly interrupted — with no subagents, no file reads, no tool calls completing — should not accumulate 20+ million cache_read tokens. This consumed a significant portion of paid usage quota for work that was never done.
This is consistent with the publicly reported Claude Code usage drain issue observed between 2026-03-28 and 2026-04-06, where users saw context/cache tokens consuming quotas at abnormal rates.
Steps to reproduce
- Open Claude Code in any project
- Begin a session (any prompt)
- Interrupt it immediately (
Ctrl+Cor tool use cancellation) - Run the token analysis script:
uv run token_analysis.py - Check
cache_readtokens for that session in~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session>.jsonl
Expected behavior
An interrupted session with minimal input should consume near-zero cache_read tokens.
Actual behavior
20,751,058 cache_read tokens consumed for a session with 215 input tokens that was cancelled before completion.
Additional context
- 10-day aggregate: 322.9M main-session tokens, 300.9M were
cache_read(93.2%) - Pattern consistent across multiple sessions:
cache_readdominates even when actual work is minimal - Script used for analysis: https://gist.github.com/kieranklaassen/7b2ebb39cbbb78cc2831497605d76cc6
Activity
github-actions commentedon Apr 7, 2026
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
github-actions commentedon May 19, 2026
Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.
github-actions commentedon Jul 9, 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.