What
A new screen-reader-friendly rendering mode that outputs flat text with no decorative borders, box-drawing characters, or animations — making Claude Code's output legible to assistive technology.
Usage
# Via CLI flag
claude --ax-screen-reader
# Via environment variable
CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER=1 claude
# Via /config
/config axScreenReader=trueDetails
- When active, Claude Code prints
[Accessible screen reader mode: on]at startup. - Forces the classic (non-TUI) renderer; the
tuisetting has no effect while screen reader mode is active. - Priority order:
--ax-screen-readerCLI flag →CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READERenv var →axScreenReadersettings key. - The env var is automatically passed to subprocesses (via
CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER=1) so nested Claude Code invocations inherit the mode.
Evidence
Screen reader renderer class (search for "[Accessible screen reader mode: on]") — Yei class at line ~160584; setting description (search for "Render screen-reader friendly output (flat text, no decorative borders or animations)")
Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.
One source agreesOne thing we can check says the same as this entry.
Anthropic's release notes agree
Added /config key=value syntax to set any setting from the prompt (e.g. /config thinking=false) — works in interactive, -p, and Remote…