Follow Discord
Sweep 22 Oct 2026 · 04:32Z Build v2.1.308 527 read Stable v2.1.308 Latest v2.1.308 Next v2.1.308 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt llms-full.txt Unofficial
HomeReleasesv2.1.236entry #7

Claude Code v2.1.236 ·

ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL sets the model when nothing else does

Set ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL and it becomes your model whenever no flag or ANTHROPIC_MODEL applies.

Use it now Notable New Features
JSON All of v2.1.236
Use it nowTier: how much it should matter to you
5Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
3Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
ModelsArea: what it touches
New FeaturesKind: in v2.1.236,
What probably matters to youSection of the release
What

The model for a session now resolves from the --model flag, then the ANTHROPIC_MODEL environment variable, then ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL, and only then the model Claude Code ships with. An organisation or a shell profile that exports the variable will see it take effect in sessions that previously fell through to the built-in default, and the model list marks the choice so you can tell where it came from.

Details
  • The model list shows the footnote "Set by ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL" against the model the variable selected.
  • The literal values default and inherit are treated as unset, so resolution continues past them to the shipped default.
  • Startup telemetry records ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL in its own field, separate from the existing ANTHROPIC_MODEL field.
  • On Amazon Bedrock and Google Vertex, the check for whether Opus is available to the account is skipped whenever the variable is set.
  • Sandboxed child processes spawned for bring-your-own-cloud setups have ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL stripped from their environment, matching the existing handling of ANTHROPIC_MODEL.
  • Invoke it inline for a single session, for example ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5 claude.
Evidence

Set by ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL, t.model || process.env.ANTHROPIC_MODEL || V.ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL

Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.

Read from
Names in the bundleANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODELANTHROPIC_MODEL--model
Since it was published

The entry above is what we published on the day. These lines were added later, as Anthropic's own pages caught up, and they sit beside the original rather than replacing it.

Confirmed since Anthropic's documentation has since written up ANTHROPIC_MODEL, on Plugins reference. | `--model <model>` | Model for the agent under test | Each case's `model`, else `ANTHROPIC_MODEL` if set, else Claude Code's default | plugins-reference see the edit
Confirmed since Anthropic's documentation has since written up --model, on CLI reference. | `claude agents` | Open [agent view](/docs/en/agent-view) to monitor and dispatch parallel background sessions. Use `--cwd <path>` to show only sessions started under that directory, or `--json` to print active sessions as a JSON array fo… cli-reference see the edit
How sure we are
Two sources agreeTwo things we can check say the same as this entry.
Anthropic's documentation agreesAnthropic's documentation has since written up --model, on CLI reference.
Anthropic's release notes agreeAdded ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL environment variable: sets the model new sessions start on, while a /model pick still overrides it and…
The name it cites is new in this buildNew in this build: ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL

See this entry in the whole of v2.1.236 →

Feedback