What probably matters to youSection of the release
What
There is a new environment variable, CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_USAGE_LIMIT_WAIT_MS. An environment variable is a named setting you give a program when you start it, for example in your shell. Its value is a time in milliseconds.
When a request is refused because you have reached a usage limit, the server says how long to wait before trying again. Claude Code subtracts the time it has already spent waiting on usage limits from this setting. If the server's wait is longer than what is left, the request fails with the reason api_request_usage_limit_wait_too_long instead of waiting. Without the setting there is no limit.
This variable also joins CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS in deciding whether Claude Code skips a check because of its retry watchdog, a timer that watches requests being tried again. The skip now happens only when neither variable is set.
Why
Runs that nobody is watching, such as scripts or automated jobs, can stop promptly at a usage limit instead of waiting a very long time.
Two sources agreeTwo things we can check say the same as this entry.
Anthropic's release notes agreeAdded CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_USAGE_LIMIT_WAIT_MS so unattended retry mode (CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG) ends a request at a usage…
The name it cites is new in this buildNew in this build: CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_USAGE_LIMIT_WAIT_MS
