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Sweep 22 Sep 2026 · 17:19Z Build v2.1.280 501 read Stable v2.1.267 Latest v2.1.280 Next v2.1.280 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt Unofficial
One change · claude-code

Modifying system prompts changed

agent-sdk/modifying-system-prompts

Nearest release: v2.1.268, published 3 hours before this site recorded the change. Shown because the two are within 24 hours of each other. Nothing here says the release caused the edit.

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364364By default, Claude Code builds the system prompt once, on a session's first request, with your `append` text or custom prompt included, and records it in the session. Until the session is compacted, every later request uses that recorded prompt, including after you return to the session with `resume` or `continue`. If you pass a different `append` or custom prompt on that later call, it takes effect once the session is compacted or in a new session.
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366Recording applies in sessions that [fetch feature flags](/docs/en/env-vars#features-that-need-feature-flag-fetching), as sessions using a claude.ai or Console account do by default. On Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, Microsoft Foundry, and in other sessions that don't fetch them, Claude Code rebuilds the prompt on every request. If you start Claude Code in [bare mode](/docs/en/headless#start-faster-with-bare-mode) by passing `--bare` through `extraArgs` or setting `CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE=1`, recording stays off unless you set `snapshot: true` on the object form of `systemPrompt`. Recording an `append` or custom prompt by default requires Claude Code v2.1.265 or later, which the TypeScript Agent SDK bundles from v0.3.265.
366If you start Claude Code in [bare mode](/docs/en/headless#start-faster-with-bare-mode) by passing `--bare` through `extraArgs` or setting `CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE=1`, recording stays off unless you set `snapshot: true` on the object form of `systemPrompt`. Recording an `append` or custom prompt by default requires Claude Code v2.1.265 or later, which the TypeScript Agent SDK bundles from v0.3.265. Before Claude Code v2.1.268, sessions that don't [fetch feature flags](/docs/en/env-vars#features-that-need-feature-flag-fetching), including sessions on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, and Microsoft Foundry, rebuilt the prompt on every request and `snapshot` had no effect.
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368To rebuild the prompt on every request instead, set `snapshot: false` on the object form of `systemPrompt` in the TypeScript SDK: `{ type: "preset", preset: "claude_code", append, snapshot: false }` or `{ type: "custom", prompt, snapshot: false }`. Use this form while you iterate on prompt wording, or when your application changes `append` between calls that resume the same session. The `snapshot` field requires `@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk` v0.3.257 or later and has no effect in sessions that don't fetch feature flags.
368To rebuild the prompt on every request instead, set `snapshot: false` on the object form of `systemPrompt` in the TypeScript SDK: `{ type: "preset", preset: "claude_code", append, snapshot: false }` or `{ type: "custom", prompt, snapshot: false }`. Use this form while you iterate on prompt wording, or when your application changes `append` between calls that resume the same session. The `snapshot` field requires `@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk` v0.3.257 or later.
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370370## Compare the four approaches
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