Claude Code 2.1.296

Changelog: v2.1.296

What's changed

• Added a code key to the Claude apps gateway's managed.policies[]: the same settings as cli, also applied in Claude Desktop's Code tab; beside desktop, it turns on Claude Desktop's gateway mode
• Added autoCompactWindow to subagent frontmatter and --agents definitions, so a subagent can auto-compact earlier than the main conversation's window
• Added CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_SUBAGENT_MODEL to run every workflow agent on one model while other subagents keep theirs
• Added CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS environment variable to set a longer maximum delay for the backoff when retrying an overloaded (529) request
• Added a note in /plugin on a plugin whose hooks are left out because another enabled plugin has the same name
• Added an allow_large option to the Read tool so Claude can read a text file past the usual size limits in one call when it needs the whole file and the context has room
• Fixed managed-settings PreToolUse hooks that deny a tool call with "continue": false, and managed prompt hooks that block one, refusing the call but not ending the turn
• Fixed PostToolUse hooks in managed settings not applying updatedMCPToolOutput in some sessions
• Fixed headless sessions starting a folder's .mcp.json or plugin MCP server that was switched off for that folder, after changing directory or reloading plugins
• Fixed a Claude apps gateway that serves allowedProviders with "gateway" locking out laptops that name that gateway in user settings
• Fixed a saved Claude apps gateway sign-in being ignored on machines whose managed settings set forceLoginMethod to gateway with no forceLoginGatewayUrl (regression in 2.1.295)
• Fixed --teleport opening an empty conversation when the session's history could not be read
• Fixed token counts for Haiku 5.5 and other models that take only adaptive thinking, which failed behind some gateways and were counted with budget thinking elsewhere
• Fixed resumed subagents being told that the user rejected a tool call that a session shutdown had interrupted
• Fixed hook output being altered when it contained text resembling a plugin hint tag
• Fixed secret redaction in shared transcripts and debug logs missing some values that follow a key with no value, including in JSON written inside a shell string
• Fixed a stray 52;c;… escape sequence printed on screen after copying in older VTE-based terminals such as MATE Terminal
• Fixed toasts and notifications waiting unseen for as long as the /diff panel or dialog was open
• Fixed Esc or an interrupt during a UserPromptSubmit hook or a mod's prompt.submit hook ending headless sessions, clearing the typed prompt, or letting the unchecked prompt through
• Fixed SessionStart hooks of a plugin loaded after a headless session starts being skipped when a different plugin with the same name, or another spelling of it, had already run
• Fixed claude self-hosted-runner printing misleading errors when registration is refused: it now names the org admin setting, or says a restarted on-demand runner needs a fresh work order
• Fixed a self-hosted runner session's git fetch, pull and push failing while another session of the same repository starts on a runner with --capacity above 1
• Fixed workflow scripts silently truncating results, agent options and other values nested deeper than about 20,000 levels, and deeply nested results writing huge task output files
• Fixed a plugin's served $ methods running in the main session's working directory instead of the calling agent's, and ignoring the turn their calling hook holds
• Fixed $.agent.register succeeding from a mod's hook that was still running after the mod was reloaded or removed; the call is now refused
• Fixed $.http.fetch in mods refusing a HEAD request when the response declares a Content-Length over the 4 MiB body limit
• Fixed claude plugin marketplace add, marketplace update and plugin install failing with an internal error for a marketplace named like constructor; add now refuses such names clearly
• Fixed a plugin secret named constructor or prototype being deleted by the next save of that plugin's options
• Fixed cloud sessions skipping auto mode's checks on Claude in Chrome actions that a saved permission allows when their feature flags had not loaded
• Fixed CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_INTERRUPTED_TURN re-running a finished turn after a restart when an MCP tool result had ended that turn
• Fixed Bash permission checks auto-approving some commands that assign the BASH_ARGV0 shell variable and then use it; these now prompt for approval
• Fixed Edit and NotebookEdit replacing every non-ASCII character in files that are not valid UTF-8 (Windows-1252, Shift-JIS, GBK); such edits are now refused
• Fixed a prompt sent just after ← being run twice, once unseen in the foreground, when the background service was slow to answer
• Fixed a prompt sent while SessionStart hooks were still running vanishing when ← moved the session to the background; it is still not sent, but ↑ now brings it back
• Fixed a late-loading plugin's SessionStart hook output reaching the new conversation after /clear in headless sessions
• Fixed PowerShell commands not seeing variables that hooks write to CLAUDE_ENV_FILE (when the file holds only plain assignments)
• Fixed Claude calling cloud sessions non-interactive and suggesting /mcp or claude mcp when an MCP server needs authentication
• Fixed /code-review ending on a raw JSON array in cloud sessions, the Agent SDK and IDE integrations; the findings now print as a numbered list
• Fixed auto mode occasionally refusing one update to your own artifact, saying its sharing had changed when it had not
• Fixed skills synced from claude.ai never finishing their install, and being downloaded again at every sync, when several sessions share a config directory
• Fixed a plugin synced from claude.ai being disabled when the marketplace dependency it declares was also synced from claude.ai
• Fixed a startup hang on macOS when plugin paths copied from a Linux machine pointed under /home
• Fixed the Workflow tool refusing script files with CRLF line endings, such as files checked out on Windows
• Fixed OpenTelemetry tool_result events missing git_commit_id after git commit -q or git -C <dir> commit
• Fixed CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC dropping a message from the saved transcript when its text held a Unicode line or paragraph separator (U+2028, U+2029)
• Fixed claude purge leaving a prompt in the history file when its text held a Unicode line or paragraph separator (U+2028, U+2029)
• Windows: Fixed PowerShell commands longer than about 1 KB always asking for permission, so allow rules and read-only detection now apply up to 32 KB
• Windows: Fixed stdio MCP servers being force-killed at shutdown; stdin now closes first and the process tree is killed only if the server is still running after 300 ms
• Windows: Fixed claude plugin install failing for GitHub owner/repo plugin sources on machines with no GitHub SSH key; the clone is now retried over HTTPS
• Windows: Fixed rm -rf /c/Users/<name> in Git Bash not asking in bypass permissions mode
• Improved fullscreen mode: the link under the mouse pointer is now underlined to show it can be opened
• Improved transcript toggle (ctrl+o) responsiveness in code-heavy conversations by caching syntax-highlighted code blocks
• Improved Claude Desktop's Code tab behind a Claude apps gateway: when a session can't start, including on a machine not set up for the gateway's code settings, the reason shows as a reply
• Improved the errors for a refused cloud session: they now say why your organization's policy couldn't be loaded, and name an API key or auth token that overrides your claude.ai login
• Improved --debug output to name unrecognized frontmatter fields in custom agent files, with a hint for likely typos
• Improved auto mode: a tool call that wasn't run because auto mode's check had no usable answer now shows as a dim "Not run" row instead of a red error
• Improved --debug output for hooks: command hooks on tool calls, prompts, SessionStart and Stop now log their command, plugin, outcome and duration when they finish, so a slow hook is identifiable
• Improved CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC: a large transcript file is no longer rewritten when that would free under 10% of it
• Updated /cost, the status line, --max-budget-usd and the SDK's cost figures to price Sonnet 5.5 cache reads at $0.10 per million tokens (was $0.20)
• Updated the bundled dataviz skill: lighter violet for the seventh series in light mode, softer primary text in dark mode, and compact y-axis labels like 1K
• Changed the default limit on MCP tool descriptions sent up front and on MCP server instructions from 2,048 to 4,096 characters
• Changed ←: a turn or ! command started while the session moves to the background is now stopped instead of finishing out of sight
• [VSCode] Fixed claudeCode.spinnerVerbs missing from the extension's settings, so settings.json now completes and validates it; a malformed value no longer breaks the chat panel
• [VSCode] Changed Claude in Chrome to ask before browser actions in every session, including one connected with @browser, as the terminal does; allowing a site for the session stops repeat asks
• [VSCode] Fixed chat links written as a full Windows path, such as C:\repo\file.ts or file:///C:/repo/file.ts, not opening the file on Windows
• [VSCode] Fixed the working indicator still animating when reduced motion is turned on in your OS, in VS Code, or with the prefersReducedMotion setting
• [VSCode] Fixed the prompt cache clock reading warm after the panel caught up on messages late, such as after the display was off or a remote window reconnected
• [Cloud sessions] Added a status filter to the Sessions and Runners lists on a self-hosted environment's Activity tab in admin settings; you can pick several statuses at once
• [Cloud sessions] Fixed every cloud session waiting for a self-hosted runner showing the same queue position; each now shows how many sessions are ahead of it
• [Cloud sessions] Fixed a message you send while Claude is still replying in a cloud session jumping above that reply when it finishes; it now stays below it, including after a reload
• [Claude Tag] Changed Claude in Slack to show the footer with the session link, model and cost only on its newest reply in a thread; the reply before it drops the footer
• [Claude Tag] Fixed links to URLs that contain parentheses breaking in some of Claude's Slack replies and task checklists, which showed stray bracket text and opened the wrong page
• [Claude Tag] Fixed Claude's Slack replies drawing color swatches beside codes that only look like hex colors, such as six-digit pull request numbers
• [Claude Tag] Added creating, editing and deleting workspace and channel memory files on the Activity page's Memory tab for members with the Claude Tag Admin permission
• [Claude Tag] Fixed the plugin confirmation card Claude posts in a Slack channel showing a plugin's ID instead of its name
• [Claude Tag] Fixed Claude in Slack posting a card to remove a plugin the channel's own settings don't include; it now explains where the plugin comes from instead
• [Claude Tag] Fixed Claude in Slack sometimes losing its reply when a session in a self-hosted environment moved to a new runner partway through a task
• [Code Review] Fixed the Code Review check sometimes staying "in progress" on a pull request after the review finished; it now shows the review's result
• [Code Review] Improved Code Review admin settings to say why a setting couldn't be saved, such as a policy restriction, instead of a generic failure message