Claude Code can compress (gzip) the data it sends in some requests. A compression level can now be chosen for that. The level comes from the environment variable CLAUDE_CODE_GZIP_REQUEST_BODY_LEVEL (a setting you give Claude Code before starting it) or, if that is not set, from a remote setting whose built-in fallback is 0.
The level is used only when it is a whole number from 1 to 9. Anything else, including 0, leaves compression at its normal default level. This does not decide whether a request is compressed at all. That still depends on the existing rules: remote switches that are off by default, running under the Bun runtime, and the request being large enough.
This is a tuning control that only matters when request compression is already in use. A higher level makes requests smaller at the cost of more work on your computer, and a lower one does the opposite.
tengu_golden_popcorn Not enough to sayNothing here resolved what this flag was doing on this version, so nothing here should be read as on or off.
This account: no value returned · anonymous baseline: no value returned · compiled default in v2.1.282: not a boolean we can read
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.
tengu_atomic_ocean Off by default, switched on for this accountThe shipped code defaults this off, and the flag server returned on for the one account this site reads on this version. That is the reading that makes the entry above worth a second look, and it still says nothing about your account.
This account: on · anonymous baseline: on · compiled default in v2.1.282: 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 v2.1.282. It isn't a statement about your account. What a flag value here can and cannot tell you
Whether `CLAUDE_CODE_GZIP_REQUEST_BODIES` can switch compression on without the remote switches is not settled.
New in this build: CLAUDE_CODE_GZIP_REQUEST_BODY_LEVEL