Claude Code now skips its background memory-writing pass when auto-memory is disabled or reads are locked to the working directory
What
The background pass that extracts memories now bails out earlier in more cases:
- It skips extraction when auto-memory is disabled, via the
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORYenvironment variable or theautoMemoryEnabledsetting. - It also skips extraction when
permissions.blockReadsOutsideWorkingDirectoriesis set and a sandbox-like mode is active, meaning reads are locked to the working directory.
These join the existing check that gates extraction behind the tengu_passport_quail flag.
Why
When a workspace has restricted reads to just the working directory, running the memory-writing pass in the background no longer makes sense, so Claude Code now refuses to run it in that case, alongside respecting the existing auto-memory disable setting.
tengu_passport_quail Off in both readingsThe flag server returned off for the account this site reads and for the anonymous baseline. A reading of off cannot rule out a rollout these two readings sit outside of.
This account: off · anonymous baseline: off · compiled default in v2.1.273: off
These values were read against a different version of Claude Code, so treat them as the nearest reading available instead of one taken on this release.
Read once, for one account on one subscription tier, against v2.1.273. It isn't a statement about your account. What a flag value here can and cannot tell you
* Fixed Bash commands with two directory changes, a subshell, or a `cd`+`git` chain skipping the prompt under `permissions.blockReadsOutsideWorkingDirectories` in bypass and auto modesee the edit
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.
When you set it in a project's `.claude/settings.json` or `.claude/settings.local.json`, Claude Code honors it under the same [workspace trust rule as hooks in settings files](/docs/en/permissions#what-runs-before-you-trust-a-folder). Whil…memory see the edit
permissions.blockReadsOutsideWorkingDirectories on Claude Code changelog
Fixed Bash commands the permission checker cannot fully analyze skipping the prompt under permissions.blockReadsOutsideWorkingDirectories…