Claude Code v2.1.181: /config Syntax, Sandbox Apple Events, Streaming Fixes

Claude Code v2.1.181 ships with several new features, improvements, and bug fixes. The headline addition is a /config key=value syntax that lets you set any configuration option directly from the prompt — for example, /config thinking=false. This works in interactive mode, via -p, and in Remote Control.

New Features

• sandbox.allowAppleEvents — an opt-in setting enabling sandboxed commands to send Apple Events on macOS, fixing open, osascript, and browser-based auth flows that failed with error -600.
• CLAUDE_CLIENT_PRESENCE_FILE — point this env var at a marker file to suppress mobile push notifications while you are at the machine.
• Bundled Bun upgraded to 1.4 — performance and compatibility improvements.

Key Improvements

• Streaming: Long paragraphs now appear line-by-line instead of waiting for the first line break.
• Auto-retry: API connection drops during thinking automatically retry instead of showing 'Connection closed while thinking'.
• Subagent panel: Idle subagents auto-hide after 30s, list caps at 5 rows with scroll hints, keyboard hints in footer.
• MCP OAuth browser page: Styled to match Claude Code visual style and auto-closes on success.
• Fullscreen URL opening: Now requires Cmd+click (macOS) / Ctrl+click, matching native terminal behavior.
• Memories line: 'Improved N memories' no longer lists individual files outside verbose mode.

Notable Bug Fixes

• Prompt caching: Fixed for custom ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and Foundry — was broken due to per-request attestation token changing every turn.
• Write/Edit: No longer produces 0-byte or truncated files on network drives and cloud-synced folders.
• Startup regression: ~120ms per launch in fresh environments (introduced in 2.1.169) fixed — first prompt no longer waits for managed-settings fetch when no MCP servers are configured.
• Startup blocking: Blank terminal for up to 15 seconds on degraded network when account settings fetch is slow — fixed.
• Startup crash: TypeError: Cannot read properties of null when .claude.json contains corrupted null project entries.
• macOS TUI freeze: Ctrl+C unresponsive when Spotlight is busy reindexing.
• Transcript cleanup: Long-running idle sessions losing history when another Claude Code process ran 30-day cleanup.
• Subagent depth limit: Foreground subagents now respect the same 5-level depth limit as background subagents.
• Model switch: /recap and conversation forks using the previous model immediately after a switch.
• Subagent timing: 'Thinking' duration no longer shows parent agent's elapsed time. Blocked subagents show 'waiting' instead of ticking timer.
• Retry indicator: 'Retrying in 0s · attempt N/10' no longer stays on screen after success.
• AWS credentials: Fixed rapid refresh for credentials with short remaining lifetime. Now accepts JSON shape from aws configure export-credentials.
• MCP status: claude mcp get / list now shows '! Connected · tools fetch failed' when tools/list fails instead of false green check.
• Remote Control: Confirms connection in transcript instead of leaving stale 'connecting…'.
• ExitWorktree: Fixed on Windows when bare git cannot be resolved.
• Symlinked settings: /effort or /model failing with ENOENT when ~/.claude/settings.json is a relative symlink under a symlinked ~/.claude.
• IDE selection: Line numbers in context reminders off by one (IntelliJ and VS Code).
• Clipboard: Ctrl+V correctly pastes text instead of showing 'No image found in clipboard'. Ctrl+C in fullscreen no longer overwrites clipboard with prior selection after modifier+drag.
• Agent creation: No longer fails with EEXIST on Windows/OneDrive.
• AskUserQuestion: Preview content word-wraps instead of being cut off. Multi-select 'Other' free-text answer no longer silently dropped.
• /stats: 'Most active day' and daily token chart dates now correct in UTC-negative timezones.
• Linux clipboard: /copy and copy-on-select detect clipboard utility installed after Claude Code started.

This release addresses numerous reliability issues, especially around startup, network resilience, and subagent management. If you are on an older version, upgrading is recommended.