AskUserQuestion
A Claude Code tool, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.138, including the newest one read.
Auto-mode is stricter: text you asked Claude to review can't grant permission on your behalf.
Not Anthropic's. This is the line from the earliest changelog entry here that named it, v2.1.221.
In the changelogs
48Releases whose published page names AskUserQuestion.
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v2.1.301
Rewritten question-tool and memory instructions prepared but not in use
Claude Code can now choose rewritten instructions for AskUserQuestion and for memory upkeep, but the rewritten versions were not seen in use
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v2.1.295
The question-asking tool's instructions now depend on which tools are available
The instructions Claude gets for AskUserQuestion are now chosen based on which other tools are available in the session
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v2.1.295
Stricter guidance on when Claude should stop to ask you a question
Claude Code includes stricter wording telling Claude to ask you only when it is blocked on a decision that is truly yours to make
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v2.1.284
Hidden "How mods work" demo shows an animated Clawd over question cards
A built-in demo plugin can draw an animated Clawd cooking above question cards, but it is off unless switched on remotely
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v2.1.284
Claude is told to ask you questions only when your answer changes what it does next
Claude is now told to skip questions with an obvious default or an answer it can check itself, pick the obvious option, say so, and carry on
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v2.1.283
Some confirmation questions can now require an answer from a person
Claude Code can mark a confirmation question as person-only, so the automatic approval check cannot answer it
found in this entry's text, named in this entry
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v2.1.283
Question screen can tell Claude Code's own confirmations from the model's questions
The AskUserQuestion screen now works out whether a question is a confirmation Claude Code itself requires
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v2.1.283
Questions Claude asks you can be split into a title and body
Questions from the
AskUserQuestiontool can now be shown as a title with separate body lines instead of one blockfound in this entry's text, named in this entry
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v2.1.281
Minor internals
Small internal changes in 2.1.281, including cleanup after AskUserQuestion, a new --exitOnCtrlCD dialog prop and a reworked tmux setup
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v2.1.281
Clearer error when AskUserQuestion-style tool has nobody to answer
When nobody can answer AskUserQuestion, Claude is told to put its question in its reply text instead
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v2.1.277
TaskOutput removed from an internal tool set
The TaskOutput tool was pulled from an internal set of tools available to a Claude Code feature
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v2.1.275
AskUserQuestion permission fallback message now distinguishes 'server not requested' in headless mode
The AskUserQuestion tool's error message now distinguishes when a server permission check simply wasn't requested
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v2.1.275
AskUserQuestion / permission requests can be unwound mid-flight during shutdown
Pending questions and permission prompts are now forcibly rejected when a session shuts down mid-flight
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v2.1.275
Session-teardown 'leave questions standing' path has no caller
New leaveQuestionsStanding path rejects pending permission questions with a teardown message but nothing calls it yet
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v2.1.269
AskUserQuestion tool gains detailed completion telemetry and drops its custom transcript rendering
AskUserQuestion now logs detailed completion stats and shows a transcript line for itself again
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v2.1.268
New env var CLAUDE_CODE_QUESTION_OPTIONAL_DESCRIPTIONS, gated to specific entrypoints
New CLAUDE_CODE_QUESTION_OPTIONAL_DESCRIPTIONS env var makes AskUserQuestion option descriptions optional, but only for certain entrypoints
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v2.1.268
Bug fix: malformed AskUserQuestion entry message stringified the wrong value
Fixed a bug where a malformed AskUserQuestion entry's error message showed the wrong value
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v2.1.268
CLAUDE_CODE_QUESTION_EXTENDED gains an alias/companion env var
A new env var CLAUDE_CODE_QUESTION_OPTIONAL_DESCRIPTIONS also turns on extended AskUserQuestion mode
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v2.1.260
AskUserQuestion tool gains typed answers and a follow-up mode
Questions to you can now be free-text or numeric, and can chain into follow-up questions.
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v2.1.260
extendedQuestionsEnabled added to session config state
Extended question types are now gated behind a session-level flag rather than always on.
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v2.1.260
AskUserQuestion tool gains richer question types and a 'more questions' path
Questions can now be free text or numeric, and follow-ups are preferred over Other/Skip options.
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v2.1.260
AskUserQuestion "extended" question mode gated by env var, off by default
An extended question mode is gated behind an env var and off by default.
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v2.1.260
Extended (multi-type) AskUserQuestion questions behind a launch option
Text and number question kinds are built, gated behind a launch option.
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v2.1.260
AskUserQuestion telemetry can include extended per-question fields and a title
AskUserQuestion telemetry can now capture extended per-question fields and a title.
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v2.1.260
Follow-up questions supported in the Q&A summary UI
The Q&A summary UI now shows when Claude was asked follow-up questions.
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v2.1.257
AskUserQuestion-style tool prompt gains a leanPrompt parameter
The AskUserQuestion prompt now receives a lean-prompt flag that can suppress a guidance snippet.
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v2.1.248
Question prompts receive a declared answer-shape value
Question prompts now receive an answer-shape value, but nothing here reads it yet.
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v2.1.242
A plugin may relabel a question prompt but not change what it asks
A plugin cannot secretly change what a question asks you; tampered prompts fall back to the original.
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v2.1.242
Plugin modules with a
$API that can hook events and redraw the terminal UIPlugins can install code that intercepts tool calls and repaints parts of the terminal interface.
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v2.1.235
AskUserQuestion options are now identified by stable keys instead of display text
AskUserQuestion options are now identified by stable keys instead of their displayed text
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v2.1.235
Screen-reader-aware question rendering
AskUserQuestion now adapts its option previews for screen readers
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v2.1.234
Malformed multiple-choice payloads no longer break rendering
A malformed multiple-choice question no longer breaks rendering.
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v2.1.224
Auto mode can classify questions instead of stopping
In auto mode, a question can be classified and handled instead of halting the run.
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v2.1.224
Question prompts are classified using the whole prompt, not just the question text
Question prompts are classified using labels, descriptions and headers, not just the question text.
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v2.1.224
AskUserQuestion dialog fallback cannot fire in this build
A fallback to the question dialog when auto-classification is unavailable can never fire here.
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v2.1.224
Pasted images in the question dialog no longer collide with other pastes
Images pasted into a question prompt no longer collide with pastes made elsewhere.
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v2.1.223
Parked AskUserQuestion can abort the turn when the control stream closes
Closing the control stream while a question waits can now cancel the turn, but that path stays off.
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v2.1.222
Parked AskUserQuestion prompts can survive stream shutdown
Questions left open when the stream closes could stay answerable, but that behaviour is switched off for you today.
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v2.1.221
Auto-mode security classifier gains three consent boundaries
Auto-mode is stricter: text you asked Claude to review can't grant permission on your behalf.
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v2.1.205
/doctorredesigned as a comprehensive 8-check repair skillfound in this entry's text
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v2.1.181
AskUserQuestion Tool: Clarified Schema Constraints
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v2.1.124
update-configskill prompt rewrittenfound in this entry's text
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v2.1.120
Richer Tool-Call Labels in Status Display
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- v2.1.70
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v2.1.45
AskUserQuestion Preview/Markdown Support
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v2.1.45
User Notes on Question Selections
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v2.1.8
Plan Mode Interview Skip
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v2.0.15
AskUserQuestion Tool
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First cited
6The earliest release whose published evidence quoted AskUserQuestion was v2.1.181, 17 Jun 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
265One 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 tool does. All tools.