CLAUDE_AFK_TIMEOUT_MS
A Claude Code environment variable, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.198, including the newest one read.
What it is
How many milliseconds of idle time before an unanswered [AskUserQuestion](/docs/en/tools-reference) dialog auto-continues without you. Auto-continue is off by default; opt in with the [askUserQuestionTimeout](/docs/en/settings-reference#askuserquestiontimeout) setting. This variable is an override for demos and automated tests: when set, it takes precedence over that setting and turns auto-continue on even when the setting is unset or never. Setting 0 doesn't turn the timeout off; it closes the dialog immediately. In v2.1.198 and v2.1.199, auto-continue was on by default with a 60000 (60 seconds) timeout. Requires Claude Code v2.1.198 or later
Anthropic's own wording. Read off Environment variables, captured 2026-08-28.
Presence across releases
| Releases | Reading | Declared type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.245 – 2.1.250 5 releases | never mined | — | — |
| 2.1.198 – 2.1.243 45 releases | in the build | int | — |
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
-
v2.1.248Away-from-keyboard auto-answer re-checks before answering
Away-from-keyboard auto-answers now bail out if you interacted first; set afkTimeoutMs or CLAUDE_AFK_TIMEOUT_MS.
named in this entry
Documentation pages
- Environment variables reference table Claude Code CLI
- Claude Code settings 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.
Names beside it
Every environment variable in the inventory starting claude_afk, up to twelve of them.
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 environment variable does. All environment variables.