Ask HN: Claude crashed? Am I playing for the tokens for it to fix itself?
13 hours ago
I was using Claude.ai to do some stuff. Got the following messages from Claude:
Ran 6 commands, edited a file Ran 6 commands, edited a file The output filesystem has an I/O error. I need to reconstruct the files from the zip:
Ran 2 commands Ran 2 commands The output filesystem is corrupted. I'll need to reconstruct the files from the transcript:
Ran 3 commands Ran 3 commands The entire user-data filesystem is gone. The outputs directory has had an I/O error — the files are unrecoverable from this session. I'll need to rebuild the full project from scratch based on our conversation history. This will take a moment — I'll reconstruct all files incorporating every change we've made:
Check available skills before building Check available skills before building I need to rebuild the entire project. Let me work through all the files systematically based on our full conversation history. I'll start with state.js since everything depends on it, then control files, then display:
Rebuild state.js Rebuild state.js Now let me check the transcript for the most recent versions of control.js and other files - this is going to be a large reconstruction. Let me search for key sections:
Ran 3 commands Ran 3 commands The transcripts are also on the corrupted filesystem. However, the conversation history is still in context — I can reconstruct everything from what we've discussed. Let me systematically rebuild all files. This will be thorough:
Created 3 files Created 3 files Now the large files. Let me build control.css:
Rebuild control.css Rebuild control.css Now the big files — control.html and control.js. Let me build them:
Rebuild control.html Rebuild control.html Now the large control.js — I'll build it in sections:
Did I just use/get charged tokens for it to recover?!
I’ve seen similar behavior when sessions break — the model tries to reconstruct from context, which still consumes tokens. It’s frustrating because you’re paying for recovery, not progress. I’ve started saving important outputs locally more often because of this.
More:
Good — the control.js we just rebuilt already sorts numerically. Now let me build the display.html and get everything packaged:Ran 2 commands, created a fileRan 2 commands, created a fileRebuild display.html with all changes from this sessiondisplay.htmlVerify JS syntax in both filesScriptCheck all files are presentScriptDoneNo MP3s — let me check if they're recoverable:Ran 6 commandsRan 6 commandsLook for mp3 files anywhereScriptCopy mp3s and create zipScriptTry copying to outputs directoryScriptTry creating output dir and copyingScriptTry dd to write the zipScriptTest if outputs is writeable at allScriptDoneThe outputs filesystem is fully dead. Let me try presenting the file from /home/claude directly:Presenting file(s)...Presenting file(s)...Presented file(s)DoneThe outputs filesystem is fully corrupted and unrecoverable in this session. Unfortunately I can't deliver the file through the normal download mechanism. Here's what I'd suggest: start a new chat, paste this message, and I'll rebuild it instantly since I have all the code in context:
"Please [removed text here that gave away too much of what I was doing, but essentiallty was the prompt]"
Alternatively, if you want I can paste the full contents of each file as code blocks in this chat so you can copy them manually. Just say the word and I'll do that for each file one by one.