What
CLAUDE_CODE_WEBSEARCH_CITATIONS is an environment variable, a setting you put in your shell before starting Claude Code. When it is set, web search results are passed to Claude in a form it can cite. Two things change in that mode:
- Snippet size cap. Search results are no longer always trimmed the same way. Each snippet now has a size cap taken from a remotely controlled value,
tengu_lexical_cupcake. A second remote value,tengu_curried_shore, can make the cap smaller. When it is above 0 and the conversation already holds enough search results to reach that fraction of the compaction threshold, the cap shrinks. The compaction threshold is the size at which Claude Code condenses older parts of the conversation to make room. Nothing has been read about either value yet, which does not mean they are off. - Citation reminder. If Claude's last reply after a web search contains text but no citations, Claude Code adds a reminder telling Claude it must cite the search results for each claim taken from them. This needs both the environment variable and a remote switch,
tengu_starry_pebble_enabled, which counts as off when it cannot be read. The flag server returned that switch as on, both for this site's account and for an anonymous account, in readings first seen on 2026-11-11. No reading has been taken under this release yet.
Without the environment variable, results are still sent as a plain title and address. The stock description of the WebSearch tool is unchanged in this release, according to a capture taken under this release.
Why
In long sessions with many searches, capped snippets keep search results from filling the conversation and forcing an early condensing step. The reminder pushes Claude to name its sources when it answers from search results, so you can check where a claim came from.
tengu_curried_shore Not enough to sayNothing here resolved what this flag was doing on this version, so nothing here should be read as on or off.
This account: no value returned · anonymous baseline: no value returned · compiled default in v2.1.323: not a boolean we can read
These values were read against a different version of Claude Code, so treat them as the nearest reading available instead of one taken on this release.
tengu_lexical_cupcake Not enough to sayNothing here resolved what this flag was doing on this version, so nothing here should be read as on or off.
This account: no value returned · anonymous baseline: no value returned · compiled default in v2.1.323: not a boolean we can read
These values were read against a different version of Claude Code, so treat them as the nearest reading available instead of one taken on this release.
Read once, for one account on one subscription tier, against v2.1.323. It isn't a statement about your account. What a flag value here can and cannot tell you
New in this build: tengu_curried_shore