The "image could not be processed and was removed" error in Claude Code for VS Code ~12x's your token cost every turn until the session dies. Root cause + fix filed:

Full writeup w/ evidence: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/90363 Short version: when Claude Code says "an image in the conversation could not be processed and was removed," it's NOT removed from your transcript. It replays every turn, breaks