On October 16 (UTC), Anthropic released version 2.1.302 of Claude Code.
Users can now turn compaction of the conversation while idle
on or off from the settings screen.
In auto mode, which automatically decides whether actions can proceed,
Anthropic also improved an issue in which actions kept being denied
because a conversation had grown too long.
What Changes: Controlling Idle Compaction from Settings
An “Idle compaction” row has been added to “/config”, which opens the settings.
Users can turn idle compaction off or back on.
The notices shown after an idle compaction now also explain how to turn it off.
In auto mode with the server-side classifier,
a conversation too long for the safety check is now compacted.
Previously, every checked tool call was denied in this situation.
Anthropic also fixed a “Prompt is too long” error
that occurred when stopping a turn while the conversation was being compacted.
Adjustments to the Classifier Model and Startup Permission Settings
The environment variable “CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_MODEL”
can now be used to choose the model
used by the client-side auto mode classifier.
This setting does not change the model for server-side auto mode.
In addition, on third-party providers, with telemetry off,
or on a fresh install, “claude -p” and Agent SDK sessions
started without a permission mode now start in default mode.
Explicitly specifying “–permission-mode auto” keeps auto mode.
Changes to Startup Time, Subagents, and Image Loading
Startup time has been improved when many plugins are enabled.
Loading plugin command and agent files now takes far fewer
file system calls, with the greatest effect on Windows.
Fork subagents are now on by default in “claude -p”,
the Agent SDK, the desktop app, and VS Code.
They can be turned off with the environment variable
“CLAUDE_CODE_FORK_SUBAGENT=0”.
The Read tool now also refuses image sources larger than 128 MB.
Notice of the Planned Closure of Standalone Claude Design
A notice has been added to “/design-sync” and “/design-login”
that standalone Claude Design (claude.ai/design)
will close by December 14, 2026.
This is a notice of a planned closure,
not an announcement that it has already closed as of this update.
LC Signal’s Perspective: Adjustments for Continuing Long Work
This update addresses both tool calls being denied as conversations grow long
and the error that occurred when stopping during compaction.
With idle compaction now also switchable in settings,
it seems to be an update that gives users who carry out long development work
more options for adjusting how Claude Code behaves.
Key Sources
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Anthropic official GitHub release notes:
Claude Code v2.1.302
This article was prepared with AI assistance using publicly available information
as of October 18, 2026.
The release was published on GitHub on October 16 at 20:53 (UTC),
which is October 17 in Japan Standard Time.
The scope of settings and fixes is based on the environments and conditions
described in the release notes.
Current changes are distinguished from the planned closure of a service.
“LC Signal’s Perspective” reflects this publication’s interpretation
of the available information.