Why Is Claude Code So Slow? 7 Ways to Speed It Up

Nathan Sebhastian Posted Nov 4, 2026 3 min read

Claude Code is usually slow because of a large conversation, a high effort level, a heavy model, or API capacity problems.

To speed it up, run /clear between tasks, lower the effort with /effort, switch models with /model, and check status.claude.com for incidents.

First, work out which kind of slow you’re dealing with:

  • Claude takes a long time to answer: try fixes 1 to 4 and 7
  • The terminal itself lags, or your computer’s fan spins up: try fixes 5 and 6

Here are seven things to try.

1. Clear or compact your conversation

Claude re-reads your conversation context with each message, so long sessions have more to process. Start fresh when you switch to unrelated work:

/clear

Run /rename first if you want to find the session later with /resume.

If you need to keep working on the same task, summarize the conversation instead:

/compact

To see what’s taking up space, run /context.

2. Lower the effort level

Higher effort levels make Claude reason for longer before it answers. For simple tasks, that time is wasted. Set a lower level:

/effort low

The levels range from low to xhigh and max. Run /effort status to see your current level, and /effort auto to let Claude Code choose.

3. Switch to a faster model

Large models take longer on small tasks. Sonnet handles most coding work well, so save Opus for complex planning and reasoning:

/model

4. Remove what you don’t need from context

Everything loaded at the start of a session adds to the work Claude has to do. Check these:

  • MCP servers: run /mcp and disable the ones you aren’t using
  • CLAUDE.md: keep it under 200 lines, and move long procedures into skills
  • Large pastes: for long files or logs, save the content to a file and ask Claude to read it

5. Restart a long session

If your computer is using a lot of CPU or memory, restart Claude Code. Your conversation isn’t lost, because you can resume it in a fresh process:

claude --continue

Also add large build folders to your .gitignore file, and restart between major tasks. Claude Code shows a warning when a session passes 2.5GB of memory.

If the lag and flicker are in the terminal itself, especially in the VS Code terminal, tmux, or iTerm2, try fullscreen rendering. It only draws the messages you can see and keeps memory use flat:

/tui fullscreen

6. Rule out plugins, MCP servers, and hooks

A plugin or hook can slow every session down. To check, start Claude Code with all customizations turned off:

claude --safe-mode

If it’s fast in safe mode, one of your customizations is the cause. Turn them back on one at a time to find it. Installed plugins are a good place to start.

You can also run /doctor inside Claude Code. It checks your installation, settings, extensions, and context usage, and it suggests fixes.

7. Check for API problems

Sometimes the slowness isn’t on your computer. Claude Code automatically retries failed requests, so a capacity problem can look like Claude is just taking a long time.

Check status.claude.com for current incidents.

If one model is under heavy load, Claude Code may suggest another one. Use /model to switch. A poor connection, VPN, or proxy can also cause problems, which I cover in how to fix ‘Unable to connect to API’.

Search is slow on WSL

If you use WSL and search results are slow or incomplete, your project may be on the Windows filesystem under /mnt/c/. Moving the project into the Linux filesystem, such as /home/<you>/, usually helps.

What if Claude Code freezes?

If it stops responding completely, press Ctrl+C to cancel the current operation. If that doesn’t work, close the terminal and restart. You can pick the session back up from the same folder:

claude --resume

Conclusion

Start with the two quickest fixes: run /clear between tasks and lower the effort level with /effort. If the terminal itself is what lags, restart the session or try /tui fullscreen. If everything is slow at once, check the status page.