2.1.163 — Claude code - Product release notes & changelog tool

Added requiredMinimumVersion and requiredMaximumVersion managed settings — Claude Code refuses to start if its version is outside the allowed range and directs the user to an approved version
Added /plugin list command to list installed plugins, with --enabled/--disabled filters
Added a “c to copy” shortcut to /btw that copies the raw markdown answer to the clipboard, preserving formatting when pasted elsewhere
Hooks: Stop and SubagentStop hooks can now return hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext to give Claude feedback and keep the turn going without being labeled a hook error
Skills: added \$ escape syntax to include a literal $ before a digit in command bodies
stdio MCP servers now receive the same CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID as hooks/Bash on --resume
Fixed claude -p hanging forever after its final result when a backgrounded command never exits — background shells are now stopped ~5s after the result once stdin closes
Fixed claude -p failing with “ANTHROPIC_API_KEY required” on Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry when CI=true and no Anthropic API key is set
Fixed bash commands failing under bazel and EDR-protected Go workflows: $TMPDIR was overridden to /tmp/claude-{uid} for all commands instead of only sandboxed ones (regression in 2.1.154)
Fixed Bash commands failing on Windows with “EEXIST: file already exists” on the session-env directory when it has the read-only attribute or is inside OneDrive
Fixed org-managed permission rules not applying for the entire session when the managed settings fetch completed during startup on a fresh config directory
Fixed background sessions in claude agents losing their running background tasks when reattached after a Claude Code update
Fixed terminal misalignment and a multi-second hang when exiting the agent view by pressing Esc
Fixed clicking Stop on a background-task chip in the desktop app not clearing the chip when the underlying process was already gone
Fixed keyboard input becoming permanently unresponsive after a paste operation whose end marker is dropped by the terminal
Fixed hook if: "Bash(...)" conditions firing on every Bash command containing $() or $VAR; the pattern now matches against commands inside subshells and backticks too
Fixed deny rules on home-directory paths (e.g. Read(~/Desktop/**)) not blocking Bash commands that reference the path via $HOME
Fixed a stray “(no content)” line left in the transcript after closing panel dialogs like /mcp and /plugins
Background agent sessions now update to a new Claude Code version in the background, so opening a session after an update no longer waits on a cold restart
Clearer descriptions for built-in commands and skills in the / menu
The subscription-switch suggestion now shows in the startup announcement slot instead of a toast
claude agents dispatching from the state-grouped view now starts the session in the directory the agent view was opened from