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Claude Code v2.1.296

latestnext 370 entries read Grouped into 304 v2.1.295 → v2.1.296 Mods API: +0 added · 0 removed · 1 changed · 2 docs only Markdown JSON Follow Unofficial

MCP tools that take file inputs can now accept local file paths. Claude Code uploads the file and passes the tool a reference instead. The Read tool's new allow_large option lets Claude read an oversized text file when there is room left in the conversation. Hook commands now take an on_failure setting of continue or block. You can set CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_SUBAGENT_MODEL to choose the model subagents use during a workflow run. Administrators can switch off messaging beyond a user's own agents with the managed setting messagingBeyondOwnAgentsDisabled.

This build holds 11 features that are not switched on yet. Claude can ask a subagent for lower or higher effort than its own, but the option is off by default. A session moved to the cloud from auto mode is being prepared to stay in auto mode. Remote sessions gain a check that probes a stream after about 8 seconds of quiet. That check is controlled remotely and is not on yet. A new restriction could limit an agent to messaging only its own agents.

Messages you typed ahead are no longer lost when a turn is cancelled. They go back into the input box or to the front of the queue. A PreToolUse hook that blocks a tool now shows its full reason in the error. Workspace diffs now follow renamed files and show deleted files as removed. On Windows, MCP servers now get a chance to shut down cleanly before being force-closed. Resumed sessions no longer restore saved MCP tasks from the 2025-11-25 tasks protocol.

Written by our agent from the shipped bundle, not by Anthropic.

Five to try today

Picked from 22 you can use now
  1. Three new environment variables for progress summaries, sleep-compact timing and the resume hook wait

    CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_PROGRESS_SUMMARIES, CLAUDE_CODE_SLEEP_COMPACT_AFTER_MS and CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_SESSIONSTART_HOOKS_WAIT_MS are new and are read by Claude Code

    Elsewhere
  2. set_model gains an only_if_model_is_current guard for swapping the system prompt

    SDK set_model requests can swap the system prompt only if a named model is running, failing with model_not_current otherwise; Remote Control refuses it

    Sessions & agents
  3. Administrators can now switch off messaging beyond a user's own agents

    A managed setting, messagingBeyondOwnAgentsDisabled, now turns this feature off and overrides CLAUDE_CODE_HARBOR_KITE

    Sessions & agents
  4. Gateway policy files gain a code block for Claude Desktop's Code tab

    Gateway policies can use a code block for Claude Desktop's Code tab, cannot mix it with cli or settings, and get clearer warnings about serve_to_desktop

    Platform & internals
  5. Models can now require a minimum Claude Code version

    Model catalog entries can set min_claude_code_version, and older clients see the model as unavailable with a message naming the version to update to

    Extensions

Want the reasoning? Read walks the 38 entries that probably matter to you, each one opening to what changed and why.

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33 entries here

What probably matters to you

Anything you can use today, anything that visibly changes, and anything worth poking at. One line each, open for detail.

+New
Use it now
Useful5 Signal3
Group of 2 Environment Variables Notable unclear

Three new environment variables for progress summaries, sleep-compact timing and the resume hook wait#

CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_PROGRESS_SUMMARIES, CLAUDE_CODE_SLEEP_COMPACT_AFTER_MS and CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_SESSIONSTART_HOOKS_WAIT_MS are new and are read by Claude Code

Unclear It is not clear whether the CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_SESSIONSTART_HOOKS_WAIT_MS value limits how long resume waits or only sets when the still-running notice appears.

Details 0 0 Feedback
·Internal
Under the hood
Useful3 Signal4
Group of 2 Agent Messaging unclear

New controls over moving agents to the background and over agent messaging#

A backgroundLaunchRule can now veto moving a foreground agent to the background, and new policy getters cover agent moves and cross-agent messaging

Unclear How these two values are set, and whether a user or administrator can set them, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
+New
You'll notice
Useful5 Signal4
MCP Notable no docs found unclear

MCP tools can receive files uploaded from your computer#

MCP tools that declare file inputs can now take local file paths, which Claude Code uploads and replaces with references

Unclear Which MCP servers pass the policy check that allows file attachments is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
anthropic/fileInputs
↑Improved
Use it now
Useful4 Signal3
Group of 3 Plugins no docs found unclear

Models can now require a minimum Claude Code version#

Model catalog entries can set min_claude_code_version, and older clients see the model as unavailable with a message naming the version to update to

Unclear It is not clear which manifest this field belongs to or whether Claude Code acts on it.

Details 0 0 Feedback
min_claude_code_version
+New
Use it now
Useful5 Signal2
Group of 3 Hooks Notable no docs found unclear

Hooks gain an on_failure field, and cloud launches report built-in tool count#

Hook commands accept an on_failure value of continue or block that cloud hook comparison now includes, and cloud launches report built-in tool count

Unclear It is not clear that setting on_failure changes anything yet, since nothing was found that acts on it.

Details 0 0 Feedback
on_failure
+New
You'll notice
Useful4 Signal4
Agent Messaging unclear

Agent messages can be limited to the same session#

A new restriction lets messages go only as plain text to agents in the same session or to the main agent

Unclear When this restriction is switched on is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
◌In dev
Nothing to try yet
Useful4 Signal4
Background Agents unclear

Groundwork for moving running agents into the background#

Background-task rules can now allow a running agent to be moved into the background, still respecting the block on background agents

Unclear It is not clear when moving a running agent into the background is available or how a user triggers it.

Details 0 0 Feedback
◌In dev
Nothing to try yet
Useful4 Signal4
Agent Messaging no docs found unclear

New restriction can limit agent messaging to an agent's own agents#

Claude Code gains a restriction that appears to stop an agent from messaging anything beyond its own agents

Unclear Which setting or mode turns this restriction on is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
disableMessagingBeyondOwnAgents
↑Improved
Use it now
Useful3 Signal4
Tether Notable unclear

Tether reminder can now be switched on by an additional condition#

The tether live check and its kept-reminder mode now also turn on when a further condition is met, besides the environment variable or server setting

Unclear What the tether reminder does for a user, and what the new condition checks, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
◌In dev
Nothing to try yet
Useful3 Signal4
Sessions unclear

Counter for turns since a person last wrote, off by default#

Claude Code now counts turns since a person last wrote and can act once a limit is reached, but this is off unless switched on remotely

Unclear What happens when the limit is reached is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
◌In dev
Nothing to try yet
Useful3 Signal4
Cloud Sessions

Moving a session to the cloud can keep auto mode#

When you move a session to the cloud from a terminal in auto mode, Claude Code now asks the cloud session to stay in auto mode

Details 0 0 Feedback
+New
You'll notice
Useful4 Signal3
MCP unclear

Background monitors from MCP servers can be stopped as tasks#

A new task type for MCP monitors can be stopped, which also stops the monitor streaming updates for it

Unclear Whether this kind of task can be started at all yet, and what switches it on, is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
+New
You'll notice
Useful4 Signal3
Managed Agents

Four new managed-agent quickstart templates#

The bundled managed-agents quickstarts gain bug-hunter, explainer-video-maker, performance-tuner and watchlist-scanner, for 13 in total

Details 0 0 Feedback
Were these the right ones to put at the top? 0 answered
Below the fold

Everything else

Smaller changes and internals, grouped as the pipeline found them. Nothing is dropped, it is only further down.

124 entries here

Improvementsopen

12 more of these are in What probably matters to you, above.

↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful3 Signal2
Group of 3 Sessions unclear

Sessions now report which Claude Code version is running them#

Session info and initialize replies, including Remote Control's, now carry the Claude Code version that runs the session

Unclear Whether this version of Claude Code actually fills in claude_code_version is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
claude_code_version
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful3 Signal3
Terminal UI unclear

Formatted text display can now show a window of long content#

Claude Code's formatted text display gains a windowed mode, likely for showing part of long content

Unclear What makes Claude Code switch to the windowed display is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful3 Signal3
Cloud Sessions unclear

Cloud tasks get a Bash dialog in remote sessions#

A cloud Bash dialog can now appear during remote sessions, and the Background tasks dialog has its own cloud tasks context

Unclear It is not clear exactly which remote-session setting makes the cloud Bash dialog appear.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful3 Signal3
Skills unclear

Skills can be requested from MCP servers, plus smaller skill sync changes#

Claude Code can send a request to fetch a skill from an MCP server, and skill sync stops early when nothing is readable

Unclear It is not clear how or when Claude Code sends the skills/get request, so whether you can fetch skills from an MCP server yet is unknown.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal3
Memory unclear

Memory consolidation no longer reads the session logs folder#

The instructions for consolidating Claude's memory no longer point it at session logs, only at a sessions folder if one exists

Unclear Whether this memory consolidation step runs for any given user is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
Nothing to try yet
Useful2 Signal3
MCP unclear

Project .mcp.json files can now be skipped when loading MCP servers#

Claude Code has a new condition under which it skips reading project .mcp.json files and uses a server list from elsewhere

Unclear What the check tests, and so when project .mcp.json files are skipped, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal3
File Upload unclear

File upload checks hashes, refuses credential files and follows an org policy#

Claude Code's file upload code now checks files after sending, refuses credential files, limits sizes and is tied to an organization policy

Unclear It is not known how this upload is started or whether the allow_cobalt_plinth policy allows it by default.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Group of 2 Permissions unclear

Deny rules can match extra names through denyMatchNames#

A new denyMatchNames list adds extra names for deny-rule matching on prompt-type commands and feeds reserved labels for MCP-loaded tools

Unclear Which commands get these extra names, and what the names are, is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Group of 2 Hooks unclear

Hooks are now tracked by source, and matcher errors no longer crash matching#

Hooks are labelled personal or checkout by source, checkout hooks cannot silently replace settings hooks, and a failing matcher stops its hook running

Unclear What the personal and checkout labels change about how those hooks run is not shown.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Group of 2 Elsewhere unclear

Messages with blank or missing pasted text are now refused instead of sent#

Claude Code now checks pasted-text placeholders before sending and refuses with a "Not sent" message when the paste is blank or no longer available

Unclear Which part of Claude Code shows this refusal, such as the VS Code extension, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful3 Signal2
Read Tool unclear

Reading files can raise its size limits to fit the context left#

File reads can raise their size and token limits to fit remaining context, and cut-off messages now say how much room there was

Unclear It is not stated what allows a read to use the raised limits, so whether this is active is unknown.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Elsewhere unclear

Fleet view session tabs move between jobs differently#

In fleet view, failed or taken jobs no longer become the next tab, and quitting with no session left to open prints a quit line

Unclear Whether these session tabs are available to all users, or only behind a setting, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Resume unclear

Resuming a session judges unfinished turns differently#

On resume, Claude Code now traces back through the transcript by response, so some turns it used to call interrupted now count as complete

Unclear Which interrupted turns now count as complete is not spelled out.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Cloud Sessions unclear

Hosted sessions can shrink or drop oversized incoming updates#

In hosted sessions, an incoming update over a size limit is now swapped for a smaller version or dropped instead of handled as is

Unclear Whether a size limit is ever actually set for hosted sessions is not known, and without one this changes nothing.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Plugins unclear

Synced plugin skills can lose their hooks, with a logged reason#

Claude Code can remove hooks from synced plugin skills, and records why a plugin skill or command was refused or run without its hooks

Unclear It is not stated what turns plugin sync on, so whether this applies to a given account is unknown.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Bash unclear

Bash tool instructions can explain how long background processes last#

Under some conditions, the Bash tool's instructions now say nohup or & processes are usually stopped a few minutes after the reply

Unclear The conditions that decide whether this sentence is added are not described.

Details 0 0 Feedback
run_in_background
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Sessions unclear

Claude Code refuses credential paths in folders background sessions can write to#

Claude Code now refuses paths in its temp folders or in folders background sessions write to freely, including for cloud credential settings

Unclear It is not clear exactly when this check runs or what Claude Code does when it refuses a path.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Background Agents unclear

Claude Code explains when background agents cannot start or resume#

Claude Code can tell you a background agent cannot start or resume in this session, and suggests the foreground or a new agent

Unclear What makes a session unable to run background agents, and whether that happens in normal use, is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Terminal UI unclear

Background tasks indicator counts one more kind of item#

The background tasks label at the bottom of the screen now adds another count and hides only when both counts are zero

Unclear It is not clear what the extra count measures, so which items now make the label appear is unknown.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Permissions unclear

Permission approvals are withheld if they would loosen a stricter rule#

Claude Code no longer grants a permission when saving it would discard a rule that blocks or restricts an action

Unclear It is not clear what happens to the request after the approval is withheld, for example whether you are asked again.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal2
Cloud Sessions unclear

Starting a remote session behaves differently when built-in tools are given#

Starting a remote session now names the session only when no built-in tools are given, after a check that can stop it

Unclear It is not clear what the new environment check refuses, or what a reader starting a remote session will notice.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal1
Group of 2 Task List unclear

SDK task messages carry a failure kind and have paths and errors scrubbed#

Task update and notification messages in the SDK stream now include a failureKind and have output paths and raw error text sanitized

Unclear It is not clear exactly where the failure kind appears in these messages.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful2 Signal1
Group of 2 Resume unclear

Resume handles stale permission prompts in more cases; a classifier event is dropped#

Resuming now handles overdue or summarized permission prompts and rate limits, records more detail on cancelled prompts, and drops a classifier event

Unclear What the new handling of overdue or summarized prompts changes for someone resuming a session is not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
Nothing to try yet
Useful1 Signal2
Skills unclear

Nested skill folders can be skipped under a new condition#

Claude Code now skips looking for skill folders deeper in your project when a new check is true

Unclear What condition turns off this skill folder search is not known.

Details 0 0 Feedback
↑Improved
You'll notice
Useful1 Signal2
File Editing unclear

The Edit tool can refuse an edit in one more case#

Claude Code's Edit tool has a new condition under which it refuses an edit, checked after its stale-file checks

Unclear The condition behind the new refusal and the message it shows are not stated.

Details 0 0 Feedback

Continues on page 2 →

Verbatim
Official · Anthropic

Anthropic’s official release notes

Published verbatim by Anthropic for v2.1.296. Text is unmodified from the upstream changelog. Everything else on this page came out of the bundle instead, which is why the two lists don't match.

Of these 79 bullets, 15 name something an entry on this page also names, 27 name something no entry here does, and 37 name nothing specific enough to line up either way. The pairings are made on names both sides wrote down, a flag or a setting or a slash command, so read one as probably the same thing rather than as a fact, and read the middle number as candidates rather than as a miss count.

A model matched these bullets to the GitHub issues they fix, so a link can be wrong.

System prompt

1 of 25 tool schemas changed.

Claude Code, interactive mode

Documentation

What the docs did around this release

910 documentation changes were recorded within 24 hours either side of this release, nearest first. The closest 12 are below. They're here because they happened near this release in time. That's not a claim that this release caused the edit, or that the page documents anything in it.

Switches

Every name in this release

The 43 literal strings found in the bundle, with the number of entries that name each one. Picking one searches for it. A name is here because this build's code mentions it, which is not the same as it working or being finished.

Slash commands

CLI flags

Environment variables

Settings and names in the code

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