What
When several workflow agents start with an identical prompt prefix, the followers now wait briefly for the leader's first response so their request hits the prompt cache instead of paying full price for the same prefix. The wait is capped by CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_PREFIX_STAGGER_MS, which has a built-in default when unset and is forced to 0 when DISABLE_PROMPT_CACHING is set.
Details
- Agents sharing a prefix register in a warm-up map; the first one through is the leader
- Followers wait up to the cap, then proceed regardless
- With prompt caching disabled there is no wait at all
Evidence
CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_PREFIX_STAGGER_MS
Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.
Names in the bundleCLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_PREFIX_STAGGER_MSDISABLE_PROMPT_CACHING
Two sources agreeTwo things we can check say the same as this entry.
Anthropic's release notes agree
Improved workflow fan-outs to stagger same-prefix sibling agents so subsequent agents read the cached prompt prefix instead of re-paying it…
The name it cites is new in this build
New in this build: CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_PREFIX_STAGGER_MS