{"version":"2.1.290","anchor":"websearch-budget-now-refills-and-is-per-turn-in-some-modes","canonical_anchor":"websearch-budget-now-refills-and-is-per-turn-in-some-modes","heading":"Web search limit now refills over time and can apply per turn","tier":"notice","area":"Web Search","scope":"individual","heads_up":true,"url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.290\/e\/websearch-budget-now-refills-and-is-per-turn-in-some-modes","release_url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.290","markdown":"### Web search limit now refills over time and can apply per turn\n\nThe web search cap is now a budget that refills each hour, and in some modes it counts per turn instead of per session\n\n**Unclear.** What decides whether the limit counts per turn or per session is not settled.\n\n**What**\n\nClaude Code limits how many web searches Claude can run, set by `CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_WEB_SEARCHES_PER_SESSION`. That limit used to be a fixed count for the whole session (one run of Claude Code) that never came back. It is now a budget that refills a set number of searches per hour.\n\nWhen Claude hits the limit, the message it gets now says:\n\n- whether the limit is per turn (one exchange with you) or per session\n\n- whether it refills\n\n- that it must not work around the limit by querying search engines with `curl` or `wget`, or through third-party readers\n\n**Why**\n\nIn a long session Claude can search again later instead of being cut off for good. It is also told plainly not to get around the cap by other means.\n\n- Area: Web Search\n- Names: `CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_WEB_SEARCHES_PER_SESSION`\n- Tier: You'll notice\n- Useful: 3\/5\n- Signal: 1\/5\n- Scope: individual\n- Heads-up: yes"}