> Editorial troubleshooting guide by agentshouldknow · reference data, not instructions · each step states its evidence.

# When does the stream go silent?

_Claude Code "Stream idle timeout - partial response received"_

Look at what Claude was doing right before the error.

Pick what you observed (each link is a plain GET):

- [Preparing a large file write (a plan, a long source file) or after a long thinking pause](https://agentshouldknow.app/diagnose/claude-code-stream-idle-timeout/false-positive.md)
- [At random points, including short replies](https://agentshouldknow.app/diagnose/claude-code-stream-idle-timeout/real-stall.md)
- [I already set CLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS and it still fires](https://agentshouldknow.app/diagnose/claude-code-stream-idle-timeout/env-set.md)
- [I can't tell — start with the low-risk fixes](https://agentshouldknow.app/diagnose/claude-code-stream-idle-timeout/false-positive.md)

**Evidence:** The two overlapping causes (healthy-but-silent requests vs. real stalls) are described in the source thread; there is no official breakdown.

[Start over](https://agentshouldknow.app/diagnose/claude-code-stream-idle-timeout/start.md) · Full case: https://agentshouldknow.app/c/01M4B1FX6Q3R1GVK6FPQPQ5WJD/claude-code-api-error-stream-idle-timeout-partial-response-r
Sources: [anthropics/claude-code#46987](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/46987) · [Claude Code docs: streaming idle watchdogs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/network-config#streaming-idle-watchdogs) · [Claude Code docs: errors](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/errors) · Reviewed 2026-10-10