Claude Code v2.1.196 Changelog

This update makes Claude Code—a command-line tool that lets you program alongside Claude—much more stable, secure, and user-friendly. It is especially important for developers who work in teams, run long background tasks, or use Windows, as it prevents lost work and cleans up the visual interface.

What's new

• Organization-wide AI models: Administrators can now set a default AI model for their entire team. If you haven't picked a specific model yourself, Claude will automatically use this "Org default."
• Friendlier session names: When you start a new chat session, Claude now gives it a readable, easy-to-understand name right away so you can keep track of your work.
• Clickable file attachments: You can now hold Cmd (on Mac) or Ctrl (on Windows/Linux) and click on file attachments in your chat to open them directly in your computer's file explorer.
• Smarter security for background tools: Claude will no longer automatically run background server tools (called MCP servers) from untrusted projects just because a settings file told it to. Untrusted projects will now pause and wait for your explicit approval.

Improvements

• Unstoppable background tasks: If you are running a long coding task in the background, it will now survive even if Claude restarts, updates, or if you are on Windows (where background tasks used to get forcefully closed).
• Cheaper code reviews: The /code-review command now combines several of its cleanup steps into one. This reduces "token" usage (the basic units of text the AI processes to think) by about 25%, making it faster and cheaper.
• Smoother terminal screen: The app does less unnecessary redraw work behind the scenes, making the text stream onto your screen much more smoothly.
• Auto-retry safety net: If Claude's response stream freezes and goes completely silent for 5 minutes, a "watchdog" timer will now automatically cancel the frozen request and try again.
• Easier navigation: You now only have to press the left arrow key (←) once instead of twice to open up your background agents panel.

Fixes

• No more deleted chats: Fixed a critical bug where resuming a paused background job could accidentally wipe out your chat history. Your files are now safely set aside and never deleted.
• PowerShell search fixes: If you use Windows PowerShell, search commands like git diff or grep will no longer falsely report as "failed" when they simply don't find any matches.
• Double-Escape to rewind: Fixed a bug where pressing the Escape key twice failed to open the "rewind" menu (which lets you jump back to an earlier point in your chat).
• Accurate agent status: The status board for your background helpers (agents) is much more accurate. Completed tasks won't glitch back and forth, stuck tasks are clearly labeled "Needs attention," and links to code pull requests are now clickable.
• Voice typing fixes: If you use voice dictation, Claude will no longer accidentally delete your spaces or randomly trigger a recording when you type really fast.
• Better crash recovery: If a remote session crashes because a server restarted, Claude will now automatically pick up right where it left off on a new server.
• Login fixes (OAuth): Fixed a bug where logging into enterprise platforms like GitLab would fail because Claude was asking for too many permissions at once.
• Correct token counting on Bedrock: Fixed a bug where the /context command incorrectly showed "0 tokens" (meaning zero data used) when running on Amazon Bedrock servers.

Breaking changes

No breaking changes in this release.