Web fetch no longer refuses HEAD requests to large files

HEAD requests in web fetch are no longer refused when the server reports a large file size

You'll noticeTier: how much it should matter to you

2Useful: my rating, 1 to 5

1Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5

ElsewhereArea: what it touches

Bug FixesKind: in v2.1.296, 09 Oct 26

Bug FixesSection of the release

What

When Claude Code fetches a web address, it refuses a response whose reported size is too large. This size check no longer applies to HEAD requests. A HEAD request asks a server only for information about a file, such as its size, and not for the file itself. Every other kind of request is still checked.

Why

A HEAD request for a large file downloads almost nothing, so it now succeeds instead of being turned away because of the file's size.

How sure we are

One source agreesOne thing we can check says the same as this entry.

Anthropic's release notes agreeFixed $.http.fetch in mods refusing a HEAD request when the response declares a Content-Length over the 4 MiB body limit

See this entry in the whole of v2.1.296 →

The build it came inv2.1.296

9 Oct 2026 · 304 entries, this one is #184.

Use it now22
You'll notice175
Nothing to try yet12
Under the hood95

Either side of it

v2.1.295Older

Open the release →

Anthropic's note

Upstream's own release notes for v2.1.296 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 $.http.fetch in mods refusing a HEAD request when the response declares a Content-Length over the 4 MiB body limit

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