Claude Code user accidentally created a fork bomb that crashed his machine and triggered a $600 API bill, highlighting the dangers of unchecked AI tool automation.

Frustrated by macOS instability, the developer built several tools using Claude Code to manage his workflow, including `/adhd` for daily task tracking and `/money` for project budgeting. While testing these tools, a misconfigured hook spawned infinite copies of the Claude client, consuming all memory and CPU.

The incident forced a painful realization: his company's API costs skyrocketed due to the runaway process. Despite the technical headache, the experience underscored the importance of robust error handling in AI-driven workflows, even as it revealed the sheer computational cost of his own tools.

This tale serves as a stark reminder that even well-intentioned developer tools can spiral out of control when interacting with powerful AI APIs, demanding careful consideration of resource management and safety nets.