Claude Code v2.1.218 Changelog

What's new

• Background code reviews: When you ask for a code review, it now runs as a "subagent" (a separate background task). This means the review no longer fills up your main chat window with text, keeping your screen clean.
• Better screen reader support: If you use a screen reader, the tool now announces when you delete words or lines. It also fixes a few quirks, like making sure it reads spaces correctly instead of just saying "new line."
• Clearer connection errors: When checking your external tool connections (MCP servers), the system now shows the exact HTTP error if a server fails to connect. It also warns you if you accidentally added hidden spaces to your settings.
• Smarter "Auto mode": When you let the tool run automatically, it no longer bothers you with permission pop-ups for things that are obviously safe (like reading files) or obviously dangerous (like deleting things). It just handles them.
• Manual deep research: The tool will no longer launch deep research on its own. You have to type the command yourself when you want it.
• Background skills: Certain tasks (called "skills") now run in the background by default so they don't freeze up your main screen.
• More options for settings: When turning features on or off in settings, you can now use words like "yes", "no", "on", or "off" instead of just "true" or "false".

Improvements

• Less annoying settings: Changing simple, safe settings (like cost tracking) no longer triggers a big "do you approve?" pop-up.
• Safer trust prompts: When the tool asks if you trust a folder you're working in, it now clearly shows you the exact main folder name you are granting access to.
• Better feedback: If you give a command like /ultrareview an invalid instruction, the tool now gives you better error feedback so you can fix your typo instead of it just failing over and over.
• Fast mode alerts: The tool now sends a quick announcement if your "fast mode" setting changes when you switch your AI model.

Fixes

• Scrambled Windows paths: Fixed a huge bug where Windows file paths starting with \u (like C:\Users\unicorn) were getting corrupted into Asian characters, making those files impossible to open.
• Left arrow key disaster: Fixed an issue where pressing the left arrow key right after editing would instantly delete your whole conversation with no way to undo it. It now asks you to confirm first.
• Broken multi-line paste: Fixed a glitch where pasting multiple lines of text into the terminal squished everything into one single line.
• Crashes with deep folders: Fixed crashes that happened when you deleted or moved folders that were buried inside tons of other folders.
• Annoying "interrupted" messages: Fixed a bug where fake "[Request interrupted by user]" messages would pop up after a tool was stopped halfway through working.
• Lost pull request links: Fixed an issue where the app would occasionally lose track of a pull request if you closed the session right after making it.
• Broken Bedrock setup: Fixed the setup wizard for Amazon AWS Bedrock so it works properly for people using proxy networks or temporary "assume-role" logins.
• Clock glitches: Fixed incorrect time-tracking for tasks by using a clock that can't be messed up if your computer's system clock suddenly changes.
• Infinite retry loops: Fixed a bug where the tool would get stuck sending the same doomed request over and over if your text got too long.
• Untrusted folders: Fixed a security issue where background tasks could run from folders you hadn't officially trusted yet.
• Lost session history: Fixed bugs where resuming a previous session would crash if the history file was slightly broken, or if the session was "compacted" (summarized to save space).
• Zombie remote sessions: Fixed a bug where remote sessions would keep sending "heartbeats" (connection checks) forever, even after the server was already gone.