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Claude Code is using too much memory on my Mac. What do I do?

Updated 7 October 2026

Each Claude Code session runs as its own process and keeps running until you exit it, along with any MCP servers, dev servers and tools it started. Sessions left open in other terminal tabs, editor panels or tmux add up quietly. Find them with pgrep -fl claude, see which project each belongs to, and exit the ones you're done with.

Why memory builds up

  • Sessions you've moved on from are still running in a terminal tab, an editor's terminal panel or a tmux pane.
  • What a session started: MCP servers, dev servers and test watchers it launched can outlive the task, and keep their memory and ports.
  • Several tools at once: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and Cursor's agent each run their own processes.

Find your sessions

  1. In Terminal, pgrep -fl claude lists Claude Code processes with their IDs.
  2. lsof -a -p <PID> -d cwd shows the folder (project) each one is working in.
  3. ps -o pid,etime,rss,command -p <PID> shows how long it has been running (etime) and its memory in KB (rss).
  4. In Activity Monitor, search for the tool's name to see the same with a running total.

Close the ones you're done with

  1. Go to the session's terminal and type /exit, which ends it cleanly.
  2. If you can't find its terminal, kill <PID> ends it. Don't do this while it's in the middle of editing files.
  3. Check for anything it left behind: lsof -nP -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN lists dev servers still holding ports (more).
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Unhogged's Agents screen: AI coding tools by project, with memory, idle time and estimated cost.Unhogged's Agents screen: AI coding tools by project, with memory, idle time and estimated cost.

Questions

Does closing the terminal stop Claude Code?

Closing the window usually ends the session. Sessions in tmux, in an editor's terminal or started in the background can keep running, so check with pgrep -fl claude.

Will I lose my conversation if I exit?

Claude Code keeps session history on disk, and claude --resume lets you pick a past session up again.

How much memory does a Claude Code session use?

It varies with the session and what it has started. Check with Activity Monitor or ps -o rss, and count the MCP and dev servers it launched as well.

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