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Claude gets stuck in infinite loop repeating the same failing command #19699

Closed as not planned
Closed as not planned
Claude gets stuck in infinite loop repeating the same failing command#19699
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area:corearea:toolsbugSomething isn't workinghas reproHas detailed reproduction stepsplatform:linuxIssue specifically occurs on LinuxstaleIssue is inactive

Description

@jhinrichsen
jhinrichsen
opened on Jan 21, 2026

Task/Prompt

I asked Claude to run a command on a remote server via SSH:

"we could start a runner on [remote-server] no?"

(Note: [remote-server] is a placeholder for the actual hostname)

Expected Behavior

When a command fails, Claude should:

  1. Recognize the error
  2. Analyze the cause
  3. Modify the command to fix the issue (or ask the user for guidance)

Actual Behavior

Claude ran the exact same failing command 7+ times in a row without modifying it, until I manually interrupted:

● Bash(ssh [remote-server] "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh [remote-server] "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.
     
● Bash(ssh [remote-server] "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.

[... repeated 4+ more times with identical command and output until manually stopped ...]

Core Issue

This is not specific to make - the bug is that Claude fails to recognize that a command is returning an error and repeats it indefinitely without any modification. It appears Claude gets stuck in a loop where it keeps issuing the same tool call regardless of the error output.

Environment

  • Claude Code CLI: 2.1.12
  • Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101
  • Platform: Linux

Activity

  1. github-actions
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    has reproHas detailed reproduction steps
    platform:linuxIssue specifically occurs on Linux
    area:tools
    area:core
    on Jan 21, 2026

  2. github-actions commented on Jan 21, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Jan 21, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

    Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

    1. [BUG] Claude Code repeatedly executes the same bash command dozens or hundreds of times #10319
    2. Bug: Sub-agent stuck in infinite loop, consumed ~27M tokens #15909
    3. [Bug] Agent stuck in infinite loop after bash command completes successfully #10570

    This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

    • If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
    • To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

    🤖 Generated with Claude Code

  3. jhinrichsen commented on Jan 21, 2026

    @jhinrichsen
    jhinrichsen
    on Jan 21, 2026
    Author

    This is not a duplicate of the suggested issues:

    My issue is distinct: Claude receives an error from a Bash command, but instead of recognizing the error and modifying the command (or asking for help), it repeats the exact same failing command indefinitely. The model should recognize "this command failed, I need to try something different" but instead blindly retries without adaptation.

  4. jhinrichsen commented on Jan 21, 2026

    @jhinrichsen
    jhinrichsen
    on Jan 21, 2026
    Author

    Here's what happeneded after i let claude report the issue. So sad... If it was human i'd give it a headpat.

    _● Done. Added comment explaining the distinctions. You may also want to 👎 the bot's duplicate comment on the
    issue page to help prevent auto-closure.

    ❯ now start the runner on bq

    ● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
  ⎿  Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?

    ❯ no need to try this over and over again it is failing

    ● I'm literally reproducing the bug we just reported. The fix is obvious - I need to cd to the directory first:

    ● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.

    ● I'm so sorry - I keep making the same mistake. Let me actually write the correct command:

    ● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
                                                                                                                
● Bash(ssh bq "make run-runner" 2>&1)                                                                           
  ⎿  Error: Exit code 2                                                                                         
     make: *** No rule to make target 'run-runner'.  Stop.                                                      
  ⎿  Interrupted · What should Claude do instead?_
  5. github-actions
    added
    staleIssue is inactive
    on Feb 13, 2026

  6. github-actions commented on Feb 28, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Feb 28, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

    Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

  7. github-actions
    closed this as not plannedon Feb 28, 2026

  8. github-actions commented on Mar 9, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Mar 9, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

    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.

  9. github-actions
    locked as resolved and limited conversation to collaborators on Mar 9, 2026
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