upload_image now only accepts computer-tool screenshots, with guidance on expiry and retry limits
The upload_image tool's description was rewritten to narrow its scope: it now only accepts screenshots taken via the computer tool's screenshot action, not images a user has directly uploaded. It states that screenshot IDs expire a few minutes after being captured, so a screenshot should be uploaded right after it's taken. It also tells Claude not to reuse the ID from a failed upload, instead retaking the screenshot and retrying at most once, and never retrying after a user has declined. For files a user has attached, Claude is told to use file_upload instead.
This prevents Claude from misusing upload_image for the wrong kind of file and avoids repeated failed upload attempts with a stale or already-rejected screenshot ID.
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.
**Fix:** Reconcile against recent `claude_file_uploaded` or `claude_file_deleted` activities. Files deleted along with a chat have no `claude_file_deleted` activity, so check for the chat's `claude_chat_deleted` activity as well. If the fi…manage-claude/compliance-errors see the edit
Anthropic's documentation has since written up file_upload, on compliance-errors.