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cleanup

Kill orphaned Claude subagent processes that didn't exit cleanly. Use when asked to "clean up agents", "kill orphaned processes", or when subagents accumulate from Task tool usage.

Packaged view

This page reorganizes the original catalog entry around fit, installability, and workflow context first. The original raw source lives below.

Stars
15
Hot score
86
Updated
March 19, 2026
Overall rating
C2.1
Composite score
2.1
Best-practice grade
C56.0

Install command

npx @skill-hub/cli install howells-arc-cleanup

Repository

howells/arc

Skill path: skills/cleanup

Kill orphaned Claude subagent processes that didn't exit cleanly. Use when asked to "clean up agents", "kill orphaned processes", or when subagents accumulate from Task tool usage.

Open repository

Best for

Primary workflow: Ship Full Stack.

Technical facets: Full Stack.

Target audience: everyone.

License: MIT.

Original source

Catalog source: SkillHub Club.

Repository owner: howells.

This is still a mirrored public skill entry. Review the repository before installing into production workflows.

What it helps with

  • Install cleanup into Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, or OpenCode workflows
  • Review https://github.com/howells/arc before adding cleanup to shared team environments
  • Use cleanup for development workflows

Works across

Claude CodeCodex CLIGemini CLIOpenCode

Favorites: 0.

Sub-skills: 0.

Aggregator: No.

Original source / Raw SKILL.md

---
name: cleanup
disable-model-invocation: true
description: |
  Kill orphaned Claude subagent processes that didn't exit cleanly.
  Use when asked to "clean up agents", "kill orphaned processes",
  or when subagents accumulate from Task tool usage.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: howells
website:
  order: 20
  desc: Kill orphaned agents
  summary: Kills Claude Code processes that have become detached from their terminal. Safe to run anytime.
  what: |
    Cleanup finds and kills Claude Code processes that have become orphaned — detached from their terminal (TTY shows "??"). These accumulate when the Task tool spawns subagents that don't cleanly exit after completion.
  why: |
    Orphaned Claude processes consume memory and CPU in the background. Running cleanup periodically keeps your system clean without affecting active terminal sessions.
---

# Cleanup Orphaned Agents

Run the cleanup script to kill orphaned Claude agent processes.

```bash
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/cleanup-orphaned-agents.sh
```

This kills Claude Code processes that have become detached from their terminal (TTY shows "??"). These accumulate when the Task tool spawns subagents that don't cleanly exit after completion.

**Safe to run anytime** — only kills orphaned processes. Active terminal sessions are preserved.

After running, report the result to the user including how many processes were cleaned up.
cleanup | SkillHub