Claude Code 2.1.284 Release

Added

• Added Claude Sonnet 5.5 (claude-sonnet-5-5), now the default Sonnet model on the Anthropic API — 1M context, $2/$10 per Mtok with $0.20/Mtok cache reads
• Added a "Yes, but ask again next time" answer to auto mode's prompt before a read outside the working directories, so you can allow that one read and still be asked about later ones
• Added dollar amounts to the Claude apps gateway spend limit in /usage and the status line (for example "$271.40 / $500.00 spent this month") when the gateway runs this version or later; the status line's rate_limits.spend_limit also gains used_usd, limit_usd and period
• Added effortSlider:decreaseEffort, increaseEffort and toggleUltracode keybinding actions, so the /effort slider's arrow and Tab keys can be rebound in keybindings.json
• Added /rate-limit-options to /help and the command menu for claude.ai subscribers, so the usage-limit notices that mention it point to a command you can find
• Added /mcp reconnect all in the interactive terminal to retry every MCP server that failed to connect or needs authentication at once
• Added Claude apps gateway startup warnings when a managed policy's availableModels is empty, or leaves out the model Claude Code starts on without setting model or enforceAvailableModels
• Added auth: { google: {} } for Claude apps gateway telemetry.forward_to destinations, so telemetry can be exported straight to Google Cloud's OTLP endpoint using the gateway's Google Cloud credentials
• Added certificate client authentication (private_key_jwt) between the Claude apps gateway and its identity provider, for identity providers that issue certificate credentials instead of client secrets
• [VSCode] Added an optional time above each prompt and response, with a date line where the day changes (Claude Code: Show Message Timestamps setting, off by default)
• [VSCode] Added plugin load errors and notes to the Manage plugins rows, with a popup to disable, uninstall or copy the error
• [VSCode] Added an Ultracode on/off switch under the Effort slider, replacing the slider's Ultracode stop; the model pill shows "· Ultracode" at any effort level
• [Claude Tag] Added model family choices such as "Opus (latest)" for a thread, a channel default or your DM, so the choice follows the newest model in that family
• [Claude Tag] Added the spend that counts toward your organization-wide limit to the analytics spend projection chart, with how much of the limit is used

Changed

• Changed interactive terminal and VS Code sessions to start in auto mode when no permission mode is configured, on every plan and provider; permissions.defaultMode still overrides it
• Changed Ultracode into its own toggle in /effort (Tab, or /effort ultracode [on|off]): it no longer forces xhigh effort and stays on at any effort level
• Changed retries after a dropped connection mid-response to share one budget with the rest of the request's retries, so a failing request gives up sooner
• Changed the notice shown when a Sonnet model's safeguards flag a message to explain why it happened and to offer editing and retrying
• Changed safety-related model switches in sessions that pin an Opus model with ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL or modelOverrides: on the Anthropic API, the API now picks the model to switch to for each kind of flag, not the pinned model
• Changed the non-interactive first turn to still wait up to 2s for connecting MCP servers named by --allowedTools or an mcp_tool hook, even when CLAUDE_CODE_MCP_STARTUP_WAIT_MS is 0
• Changed /recap to decline with a short notice when it arrives relayed from a chat thread (your own included) or from a routine or webhook; typed in the terminal, the Claude apps, Remote Control, -p or an SDK host, it runs as before
• Changed /artifacts to show its filter tabs beside the title with one-word labels (All, Mine, Shared), using the same tab bar as /config and /plugin
• Changed artifact publishing to refuse a file on a network share (a \\host\share path or a /net automount) unless it is on a mapped network drive added with --add-dir
• [VSCode] Changed CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in the claudeCode.environmentVariables setting to apply only when it is an absolute path, and passed it to terminals that continue the chat
• [Claude Tag] Changed Claude to post its private sign-in notice at every @mention from someone who hasn't connected their Claude account, instead of going quiet after the first