CLAUDE_AX_STARTUP_QUIET_MS
A Claude Code environment variable, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.217, including the newest one read.
What it is
In [screen reader mode](/docs/en/accessibility), how many milliseconds Claude Code holds the first interface render after the startup confirmation line, so your screen reader can speak the line in full before new output interrupts it. Default 3000. Set 0 to render immediately. Claude Code caps the hold at 600000 (10 minutes). Your first keystroke ends the hold early. Requires Claude Code v2.1.217 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 | — | — |
| 2.1.217 – 2.1.243 26 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
No changelog entry here has ever named it. That is a statement about what has been written, not about the name: it has been in the build since v2.1.217 without anybody writing a line about it.
Documentation pages
- Environment variables reference table Claude Code CLI
- Use Claude Code with a screen reader 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_ax, up to twelve of them.
CLAUDE_AX_PREPARK_MSIn [screen reader mode](/docs/en/accessibility#what-your-screen-reader-hears), how many milliseconds Claude Code waits, with the cursor at the start of the line, before it writes a new or changed line. Default 50. Set 0 to write immediately. Claude Code caps the wait at 5000. Requires Claude Code v2.1.233 or later 2.1.233
CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READERSet to 1 to render screen-reader friendly output: flat text without decorative borders or animations. Set to 0 to force screen-reader mode off even when [axScreenReader](/docs/en/settings-reference#axscreenreader) is true. The [--ax-screen-reader](/docs/en/cli-reference#cli-flags) flag takes precedence. Requires Claude Code v2.1.181 or later 2.1.181
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.