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Sweep 10 Nov 2026 · 02:18Z Build v2.1.322 539 read Stable v2.1.311 Latest v2.1.322 Next v2.1.322 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt llms-full.txt Unofficial

Claude Code v2.1.277 ·

TaskOutput tool removed; task output is now read via the Read tool

The TaskOutput tool was removed; background task output is now read through the Read tool, and its max-length setting was retired

Group of 4 You'll notice Internal Changes
JSON All of v2.1.277
You'll noticeTier: how much it should matter to you
3Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
2Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
Background TasksArea: what it touches
Internal ChangesKind: in v2.1.277,
Internal ChangesSection of the release

Unclear The finding does not say what the different output hosts are or how their limits differ from the previous taskOutputMaxChars setting.

What

  • The TaskOutput tool has been removed. Its config field's description now says background task output should be read via the Read tool instead.
  • TaskOutput was dropped from the internal tool set used alongside Read, Glob, Grep, NotebookRead, Skill, AskUserQuestion, TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, TaskUpdate, TaskStop, Agent, and TodoWrite.
  • The TASK_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH environment variable was dropped from the list of recognized/passthrough settings.
  • The function that computes the maximum characters allowed for task output no longer reads a taskOutputMaxChars setting; it now derives the limit from the current output host/target instead.

Why

This consolidates reading background task output onto the Read tool instead of a separate TaskOutput tool, and moves the output-length limit from a fixed global setting to something derived from where the output is being read.

How sure we are
Something disagreesSomething we can check disagrees with this entry, or the writer said they could not settle it.
The writer flagged doubtThe finding does not say what the different output hosts are or how their limits differ from the previous taskOutputMaxChars setting.
Anthropic's release notes agreeRemoved the deprecated TaskOutput tool; Claude reads a background task's output file with Read instead, and the taskOutputMaxChars setting…

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