policyHelpers
A Claude Code settings key, read out of the shipped bundle. It was in the build from v2.1.228 and was gone by v2.1.284.
An admin policy helper can no longer chain to another policy helper.
Not Anthropic's. This is the line from the earliest changelog entry here that named it, v2.1.228.
In the changelogs
24Releases whose published page names policyHelpers.
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v2.1.281
New policy-helper predicate requires a verified gateway host (hostVerdict)
A new check passes only when the gateway host has been verified and a policy helper is configured
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.265
policyHelpers per-source shadowing warning gated behind
managedSourcesBehavior: "merge"Claude Code now warns when multiple managed settings sources define conflicting policy helper config under merge mode
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.265
policyHelpers per-entry onFailure and retries settings now validated for effect
Claude Code now flags policy helpers that require success but have no fallback settings
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.265
policyHelper singular field now also warns for ignored onFailure/retries
Claude Code now warns if onFailure or retries is set on the singular policyHelper entry, since those are ignored there
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.265
policyHelpers
onFailure/retriesper-OS validation messages addedClaude Code now warns when
onFailureorretriesare set on the wrongpolicyHelperkey, and can refuse to start if an OS-admin helper failsfound in this entry's text
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v2.1.265
policyHelpers now honored from remote managed settings too
policyHelpers can now be delivered via remote managed settings, not just admin-controlled policy sources
found in this entry's text, named in this entry
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v2.1.265
policyHelpers entries gain a retries setting for helper execution failures
Per-OS
policyHelpersentries can now setretriesto control retry attempts after a failed runfound in this entry's text
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v2.1.242
Policy helpers can declare whether their settings merge or replace
Admins can say whether a per-OS policy helper's settings replace or merge over the source.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.239
Policy-helper warnings say which platform they apply to
policyHelpers warnings now understand per-OS entries and say when yours has none.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.235
Policy helpers can now be delivered by remote settings, but only after an explicit consent record — and they run in a scrubbed environment
Remote-delivered policy helpers now require explicit consent and run with a scrubbed environment
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.235
Remote-armed policyHelpers are dropped if arming is revoked while the helper runs
Remote-armed policyHelper output is dropped if remote arming is revoked while the helper is still running
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.235
Remote settings can now be primed from the storage backend instead of a disk probe
Remote settings can now be loaded from a storage-backend view instead of only probing disk
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.235
Managed-settings policy helper can be "armed from remote"
Managed-settings policy helpers can now be armed from a remote source, reported as a distinct settings tier and fingerprinted per OS
found in this entry's text
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v2.1.234
Managed policy helpers can be an inline script instead of an executable
Admins can now supply managed policy helpers as an inline script instead of a file on disk.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.232
Warnings when policy helper settings are nested in the wrong place
Settings validation now warns when policy helper keys are nested where nothing reads them.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.232
Fixed policy payloads are validated like managed settings
Malformed admin fallback settings payloads are caught at startup instead of silently doing nothing.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.232
A failing policy helper now falls back to its fixed payload
A repeatedly failing policy helper now serves its configured fixed payload instead of stale output.
named in this entry
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v2.1.232
Managed settings: policy helpers can carry a static fallback payload
Admins can attach a static
defaultSettingspayload used when a policy helper is missing or fails.named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.232
Policy helper settings are now per-OS with a static fallback
Policy helpers now take per-OS entries plus a static settings payload used when they fail.
named in this entry
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v2.1.232
Policy helper executable paths must be in normalized form
Policy helper paths must be fully normalized, and Windows needs a drive or UNC path.
named in this entry
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v2.1.232
Managed policy can now ship a fixed settings payload, not just a helper program
Admins can ship managed settings directly in policy, including per-OS defaults, without running a helper program.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.228
A policy helper can no longer configure another policy helper
An admin policy helper can no longer chain to another policy helper.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.228
Managed settings accept per-OS
policyHelpersAdmins can set a different policy helper program per operating system with a new policyHelpers setting.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
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v2.1.228
New
policyHelpersmanaged-settings key for per-OS policy helper executablesSet policyHelpers per platform; WSL falls back to the linux entry, then to the single policyHelper.
named in this entry, found in this entry's text
First cited
6The earliest release whose published evidence quoted policyHelpers was v2.1.228, 11 Aug 2026. That is the oldest release this project wrote about it, so it is a floor on the name's age and not the release that introduced it. It is not a presence reading: which builds carried the name is the table below.
Presence across releases
2Build by build
69One row per release since the first build this name was read out of. Absent means the build was read and the name was not in it, never mined means no bundle for that release was ever archived, and a declared type or a default is only ever what that release's own bundle stated.
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 settings key does. All settings keys.