Claude Code Hidden Retry Wastes 64k Tokens
HighDefinist · reddit · 2026-07-19
The author analyzed the underlying logs of a Claude Code coding task for Fable 5 and discovered a highly wasteful hidden retry: - The first request took about 25.8k input tokens and generated a full 64k output tokens consisting entirely of reasoning, with no text output, tool calls, or file changes, ultimately triggering `max_tokens`. - Claude Code automatically retried the same task, but the previous 64k reasoning tokens weren't essentially inherited; the second attempt was almost like planning from scratch. - The second attempt generated another 63,567 output tokens, only issuing the first file-writing tool call near the very end. - The standard UI automatically hides/recovers from this failure, so the author wouldn't have known about the wasted ~19 minutes and 64k output tokens without checking the logs. - This complete task cumulatively used about 1.97M input tokens, 184.6k output tokens, and 49 minutes of active execution time, with about 35% of the output tokens coming from the first failed attempt. The author concludes by asking how common this is and if others have experienced similar issues.
More from coding & agent
- Codex Computer Use grabs a voicemail access code through iPhone call screening — KarelDoostrlnck · 2026-07-21
- Grok Imagine’s Agent mode adds image cropping for smoother video transitions — elonmusk · 2026-07-21
- An engineering platform that auto-assigns and resolves Jira bugs with AI agents — Pavan_Belagatti · 2026-07-21
- Reddit asks how to stop agents from retrying the same failed call until budgets burn — bulleykebaal · 2026-07-21
- A “shadow steering” pattern lets a larger model intervene only when a smaller one starts to fail — dotey · 2026-07-21
- Clanker Cloud teases easier agent-to-agent communication for its next update — tekbog · 2026-07-21