CLAUDE_BYTE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS
A Claude Code environment variable, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.157, including the newest one read.
What it is
Timeout in milliseconds for the byte-level streaming idle watchdog only; when set, it takes precedence over CLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS for that watchdog and leaves the event-level watchdog unchanged. Claude Code clamps this variable to between 10 seconds and 30 minutes. Requires Claude Code v2.1.210 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 | — | — |
| 2.1.242 – 2.1.243 2 releases | in the build | — | — |
| 2.1.210 – 2.1.241 31 releases | in the build | int | — |
| 2.1.157 – 2.1.209 45 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
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 v2.1.157 without anybody writing a line about it.
Documentation pages
- Environment variables reference table Claude Code CLI
- Enterprise network configuration 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 environment variable does. All environment variables.