--bare
A Claude Code CLI flag, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.138, including the newest one read.
What it is
Minimal mode: skip auto-discovery of hooks, skills, custom commands, subagents, plugins, MCP servers, auto memory, and CLAUDE.md so scripted calls start faster. Skills in a directory you pass with --add-dir still load. Claude has access to Bash, file read, and file edit tools. Sets [CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE](/docs/en/env-vars). See [bare mode](/docs/en/headless#start-faster-with-bare-mode)
Anthropic's own wording. Read off CLI reference, captured 2026-08-28.
Presence across releases
| Releases | Reading | Declared type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.245 – 2.1.250 5 releases | never mined | — | — |
| 2.1.138 – 2.1.243 95 releases | in the build | — | — |
A row reading never mined is a release with no archived bundle behind it. Nothing was read out of it, so nothing here says whether the name was in it. A declared type or a default is only ever what that release's own bundle stated.
Changelog entries naming it
-
v2.1.242Administrators and --bare can block plugin hooks from loading
Two managed settings can block plugin hooks entirely or allow only managed plugins.
named in this entry
Documentation pages
- CLI reference reference table Claude Code CLI
- Authentication mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Claude Code changelog mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Explore the .claude directory mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Environment variables mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Glossary mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Run Claude Code programmatically mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Monitoring mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Configure permissions mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Claude Code settings reference mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Create custom subagents mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Tools reference mentions it Claude Code CLI
A reference table page is one whose own table defines this name, and it is where the description above came from. A page that mentions it carries the name somewhere in its text and may say nothing about it at all. Every page carrying it.
Read out of the published npm bundle release by release, and out of Anthropic's own documentation as this site captured it. Nothing on this page is a description anybody here wrote about what the CLI flag does. All CLI flags.