Detection of sign-in forwarded over SSH now checks for a…

Detection of sign-in forwarded over SSH now checks for a placeholder

Claude Code recognises SSH-forwarded sign-in when a socket is set and exactly one credential variable holds the value ssh-placeholder

Under the hood Internal Changes

JSON All of v2.1.285

Under the hoodTier: how much it should matter to you

1Useful: my rating, 1 to 5

2Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5

ElsewhereArea: what it touches

Internal ChangesKind: in v2.1.285, 29 Sep 26

Internal ChangesSection of the release

What

The check Claude Code uses to spot a sign-in forwarded over SSH has changed. SSH is a way of working on another computer remotely. It now treats the setup as forwarded when all of these are true:

ANTHROPIC_UNIX_SOCKET is set.
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN is not set.
Exactly one of CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set to ssh-placeholder.

Why

This suggests Claude Code, when run over SSH, can hand sign-in off to another machine, with the placeholder value standing in for a real key or token.

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 doubtIt is not clear which part of Claude Code acts on this check.

Anthropic's release notes agreeFixed sessions that authenticate with ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN against the Anthropic API never loading the organization's policy

See this entry in the whole of v2.1.285 →

The build it came inv2.1.285

29 Sep 2026 · 428 entries, this one is #353.

Use it now17
You'll notice286
Nothing to try yet7
Under the hood118

Either side of it

v2.1.284Older

Open the release →

Names in this entry

envANTHROPIC_UNIX_SOCKET
Environment variables your org policy blocks can no longer sneak through by changing their capitalization.
envANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
Custom value for the Authorization header (the value you set here will be prefixed with Bearer )
envCLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN
Three artifact environment variables are now recognised, with the API token stripped from spawned processes as a secret.
envANTHROPIC_API_KEY
API key sent as X-Api-Key header. When set, this key is used instead of your Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription even if you are logged in. In non-interactive mode (-p), the key is always used when present. In interactive mode, you are prompted to approve the key once before it overrides your subscription. To use your subscription instead, run unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Anthropic's note

Upstream's own release notes for v2.1.285 name something this entry names, so the two are probably about the same change. Probably: the pairing is made on a shared name rather than on the words around it.

Fixed sessions that authenticate with ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN against the Anthropic API never loading the organization's policy

Is this right?