Claude Code v2.1.81 adds bare flag for scripting, fixes authentication and voice mode issues

New Features

Claude Code v2.1.81 adds two significant features for developers working with AI coding agents.

--bare flag for scripted -p calls: This flag skips hooks, LSP, plugin sync, and skill directory walks. It requires either an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable or an apiKeyHelper via --settings, with OAuth and keychain authentication disabled. Auto-memory is also fully disabled in this mode.

--channels permission relay: Channel servers that declare the permission capability can now forward tool approval prompts to your phone.

Critical Fixes

The release addresses several important issues:

• Fixed multiple concurrent Claude Code sessions requiring repeated re-authentication when one session refreshes its OAuth token
• Fixed voice mode silently swallowing retry failures and showing misleading "check your network" messages instead of actual errors
• Fixed voice mode audio not recovering when the server silently drops the WebSocket connection
• Fixed CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS not suppressing the structured-outputs beta header, which caused 400 errors on proxy gateways forwarding to Vertex/Bedrock
• Fixed a crash on Node.js 18
• Fixed unnecessary permission prompts for Bash commands containing dashes in strings
• Fixed plugin hooks blocking prompt submission when the plugin directory is deleted mid-session

Performance and UX Improvements

• Fixed a race condition where background agent task output could hang indefinitely when the task completed between polling intervals
• Resuming a session that was in a worktree now switches back to that worktree
• Fixed /btw not including pasted text when used during an active response
• Fixed a race where fast Cmd+Tab followed by paste could beat the clipboard copy under tmux
• Improved MCP read/search tool calls to collapse into a single "Queried {server}" line (expand with Ctrl+O)
• Improved ! bash mode discoverability — Claude now suggests it when you need to run an interactive command
• Improved plugin freshness — ref-tracked plugins now re-clone on every load to pick up upstream changes

Remote Control Enhancements

• Fixed Remote Control sessions showing a generic title instead of deriving from the first prompt
• Fixed /rename not syncing the title for Remote Control sessions
• Fixed Remote Control /exit not reliably archiving the session
• Improved Remote Control session titles to refresh after your third message

Other Changes

• Updated MCP OAuth to support Client ID Metadata Document (CIMD / SEP-991) for servers without Dynamic Client Registration
• Changed plan mode to hide the "clear context" option by default (restore with "showClearContextOnPlanAccept": true)
• Disabled line-by-line response streaming on Windows (including WSL in Windows Terminal) due to rendering issues
• [VSCode] Fixed Windows PATH inheritance for Bash tool when using Git Bash (regression in v2.1.78)