You'll noticeTier: how much it should matter to you
1Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
1Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
WindowsArea: what it touches
ImprovementsKind: in v2.1.281,
ImprovementsSection of the release
What
Windows can give files and folders an old-style short name, such as PROGRA~1, in what is called the 8.3 format. On Windows and on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux, which runs Linux inside Windows), Claude Code's protected-path check now flags any part of a path that looks like one of these short names. A protected path is one Claude Code treats with extra care before touching. An older check that ran only on WSL was removed from this part of the test.
Why
A short name can point to the same place as a long one, so this closes a way for a path to slip past the protected-path check by using the short spelling.
