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[BUG] Repeated "Image couldn't be processed" API errors consuming usage limit in Claude Code #62466
Description
Preflight Checklist
- I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Description
Claude Code repeatedly triggered image processing errors that consumed my entire usage limit without producing useful output. After an initial failed attempt to process a base64-encoded image, every subsequent request in the conversation triggered the same error.
Error Pattern
The following error appeared on every tool invocation after the initial failure:
An image couldn't be read. Rewind to remove it and try a different format.
API Error: an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed. Re-read the file with a different approach if you still need it.
Tool calls that triggered the error:
- Read bg66xakij.output
- ToolSearch
- Generic tool usage
- "Verify image then send all preview emails"
- "Follow redirect to confirm 200"
Actual Behavior
The error persisted across all subsequent requests, consuming my entire 5-hour usage limit without producing useful work.
Environment
- Product: Claude Code Desktop MacOS
- Conversation ID: 215474449845617
- Date: May 26, 2026
- MacOS Version 26.3.1 (a) (25D771280a) Claude desktop version: "May 22, 2026 1.8555.1"
Impact
This bug consumed my entire usage allocation, preventing me from completing my work.
What Should Happen?
Expected Behavior
After an image processing error, Claude Code should either:
- Stop attempting to process the problematic image
- Allow the conversation to continue without repeatedly triggering the same error
- Not consume usage credits for repeated error states
Error Messages/Logs
Image couldn't be processed
An image couldn't be read. Rewind to remove it and try a different format.
View details
API Error: an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed. Re-read the file with a different approach if you still need it.Steps to Reproduce
Steps to Reproduce
- Asked Claude Code to append an image to an email template
- Claude Code attempted to read base64-encoded image from
/tmp/barberas-email/logo-base64.txt - Initial commands executed:
cat /tmp/barberas-email/logo-base64.txt | wc -c(returned 2098)cat /tmp/barberas-email/logo-base64.txt | head -c 100 && echo "..."
- Received error: "API Error: an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed"
- Every subsequent request triggered the same error repeatedly
Claude Model
Opus
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
No response
Claude Code Version
2.1.140 (Claude Code)
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
Activity
mmffdev commentedon Jun 1, 2026
Same error here but it says:
API Error: an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed. Re-read the file with a different approach if you still need it.
keeps repeating through the VS Code Extension on Opus 4.8
Galven commentedon Jun 2, 2026
+1
CloudyChai commentedon Jun 2, 2026
Was happening today. Burned through my 5 hour within 2 prompts..
popsandthefamily commentedon Jun 2, 2026
Also happened to me in Claude for VS Code, I wiped my 5 hours out in an hour flat somehow.
jaydeep-devx commentedon Jun 3, 2026
yes same with me
jaydeep-devx commentedon Jun 3, 2026
just one prompt with claude this and my limit got reached
nazarrd commentedon Jun 3, 2026
Same with me, got multiple similar error and wiped my 5 hours that was just reset. I was on max 5x plan.
azzapoys commentedon Jun 3, 2026
Same here, usage went in 2 mins after one prompt after resetting, on the pro licence also.
hossein-webdev commentedon Jun 3, 2026
I'm getting the same error here:
"API Error: an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed. Re-read the file with a different approach if you still need it."
The issue also consumed my MAax plan usage in less than 5 minutes. I NEED MY USAGE RESTORED !!!!
Because of this error, I couldn't finish my project on time and now I have to wait 5 hours before I can continue.
beztebya666 commentedon Jun 4, 2026
+1
@ThariqS
beztebya666 commentedon Jun 4, 2026
MichaelUray commentedon Jun 4, 2026
Same here:
ThalionA commentedon Jun 5, 2026
+1. It's been happening since yesterday continuously. It's unusable!
ELMarso-ux commentedon Jun 5, 2026
I’ve encountered the same issue. Has any solution been found yet? Is everyone still experiencing this problem?
7 remaining items
chore: start working on anthropics#62466
lukesoftware commentedon Jun 10, 2026
I think the error is with QR code images
arunchris commentedon Jun 11, 2026
This bug is super annoying and drains the 5 hour limit tokens in a few prompts
LeeStevens318 commentedon Jun 11, 2026
Wasted my whole 5 hour window
Fabian-Wacker-Starke commentedon Jun 12, 2026
Since today i have the same problem, 5 hour session limit is reached in minutes.
tkdgusqkr-g commentedon Jun 16, 2026
I have the same problem, 5 hour session limit is reached in minutes.
bedrich-schindler commentedon Jun 27, 2026
It's still happening (Claude Code v2.1.195, MacOS). It burnt about 50% of my 5h window (8% of weekly limits) of Max 5x within 5 minutes
raveneal commentedon Jul 22, 2026
This was happening to me. I compacted the window and it stopped. Seemed it was reprocessing image heavy window on each turn. compact solved and didn't repeat.
AuraCodez commentedon Aug 4, 2026
It is eating up my limits quick I guess im going to compact it
AuraCodez commentedon Aug 5, 2026
HOW exactly do we fix this.
Boh1 commentedon Aug 13, 2026
Confirming this on Claude Code Version: 2.1.170 / OS: Windows 11.
The usage-burn impact is severe enough that I want to add hard numbers, because I think they understate how bad the loop is.
Impact: This consumed ~32% of my 5-hour usage window in about 3 minutes. The error isn't a one-time failure you dismiss — it recurs on every subsequent turn, and each turn re-sends the full conversation context (including the un-removed image) and gets billed for it. So a single bad image effectively taxes you for a runaway retry loop you can't see or stop.
Trigger: capturing a screenshot of a document (a PDF form) for analysis — the image was evidently too large or malformed to process.
The two things that make this a design bug, not just an error:
The message says the image "was removed" — it isn't. It's dropped from the current turn's processing but stays in conversation history, which is the entire reason it recurs. Every following request re-sends it, re-fails, and re-bills. The message describes an action the system didn't actually perform.
There's no circuit-breaker. After N identical image-processing failures, nothing throttles, evicts the image, or halts. It just loops and keeps consuming the usage window. A simple "we've failed on this same image 3× — stopping and evicting it" would prevent the entire problem.
Also: the suggested remedy "re-read the file if you still need it" is actively harmful when the file is the bad image — it re-injects the exact payload that's breaking the session.
Workaround (confirmed): the only recovery was to let in-flight work finish, manually write a continuation prompt to preserve state, then /clear the session. That's a painful manual rescue while being billed for the loop the whole time.
Related Issue: This is the same failure signature as #66815 (reported ~60% of usage burned across 19 consecutive retries, each re-sending the full context) - that issue was closed as not planned, but the token-burn impact is real and reproducible, so I'd push back on that disposition. At minimum this needs a retry cap / circuit-breaker and a corrected error message.
psouza4 commentedon Aug 25, 2026
Still happening so many months later. I'm surprised such a bug continues to exist in a polished product.
nelsonestrada5 commentedon Aug 27, 2026
Can confirm this is happening to me today.
Claude 1.37937.3 (28dcf5) // macOS Version 26.6.2
HadiSDev commentedon Sep 3, 2026
This started happening now. Super annoying
itsCynic commentedon Sep 15, 2026
happening to me