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- Type: String (shell path or name)
- Default: Auto-detected (bash, zsh, fish, powershell, etc.)
- Description: Override the shell used for Bash/shell tool execution. If set, Claude Code uses this shell instead of auto-detecting.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL=/bin/zsh
- Type: String (command prefix and args)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Prefix command/args added before shell invocations. Useful for wrapping all shell commands (e.g., with env vars or sandboxing).
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL_PREFIX='env -i'
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Simplified mode. Disables attachments, auto memory, and other advanced features. Useful for lightweight or restricted environments.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE=1
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Don’t inherit environment variables from parent process. When set, starts with a clean slate.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_DONT_INHERIT_ENV=1
- Type: String (directory path)
- Default:
~/.claude on Unix; %APPDATA%\Claude on Windows
- Description: Override the default Claude configuration directory path. Stores settings, cache, plugins, and other state.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=/etc/claude-config
- Type: String (directory path)
- Default: System temp dir (from TMPDIR or /tmp on Unix; %TEMP% on Windows)
- Description: Override the temp directory used by Claude Code. Used for temporary files, tool outputs, etc.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_TMPDIR=/scratch/claude-tmp
- Type: String (directory path)
- Default: Same as CLAUDE_TMPDIR
- Description: Alternative var name for temp directory. Takes precedence over CLAUDE_TMPDIR if set.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_TMPDIR=/var/tmp/claude
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Enable debug mode for Claude Code. Increases logging verbosity.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_DEBUG=1
- Type: String (directory path)
- Default:
${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR}/debug/SESSION_ID.txt
- Description: Custom directory for debug log files. Logs go to SESSION.txt in this directory.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_DEBUG_LOGS_DIR=/var/log/claude-debug
- Type: String (enum: verbose, debug, info, warn, error)
- Default:
debug
- Description: Debug log level. Controls verbosity of debug logs.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL=verbose
- Type: String (file path)
- Default: Unspecified (no diagnostics file written)
- Description: Path to write diagnostics output file. Useful for debugging issues and collecting system info.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_DIAGNOSTICS_FILE=/tmp/claude-diagnostics.txt
- Type: String (file path)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Path to a custom environment file to load on startup. Useful for project-specific env vars. Vars in this file override defaults but not CLI args.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_ENV_FILE=./.claude.env
- Type: String (enum: cli, sdk-ts, sdk-py, sdk-cli, mcp, claude-code-github-action, claude-desktop, local-agent)
- Default: Auto-detected (usually cli)
- Description: Identifies how Claude Code was launched. Used for telemetry and feature selection. Typically set by the launcher, not manually.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENTRYPOINT=local-agent
- Type: String (e.g., local, remote, container)
- Default:
local
- Description: Identifies the environment kind. Affects resource limits, feature availability, etc.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENVIRONMENT_KIND=container
- Type: String (version identifier)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Version of the environment runner. Used for tracking and debugging in remote environments.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENVIRONMENT_RUNNER_VERSION=v1.2.3
- Type: String (platform identifier)
- Default: Auto-detected (darwin, linux, win32, etc.)
- Description: Override the detected host platform identifier. Useful when auto-detection fails.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_HOST_PLATFORM=linux
- Type: String (format identifier)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Format for question preview display. Controls how user questions are shown in UI.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_QUESTION_PREVIEW_FORMAT=compact
- Type: String (comma-separated tags)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Custom tags to include in telemetry and event tracking. Useful for grouping sessions by context.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_TAGS=experiment-v1,team-blue
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Force display of the full ASCII logo on startup. By default, logo is simplified in some contexts.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_FORCE_FULL_LOGO=1
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Trigger new initialization flow. Forces reinitializing config, migrations, etc.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_NEW_INIT=1
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Exit immediately after the first UI render. Used for testing and automation.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_EXIT_AFTER_FIRST_RENDER=1
- Type: Integer (milliseconds)
- Default: Unspecified (no delay)
- Description: Delay in ms before exiting after stop signal. Allows cleanup and graceful shutdown.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_EXIT_AFTER_STOP_DELAY=2000
- Type: String (epoch identifier)
- Default: Unspecified
- Description: Worker epoch identifier for multi-worker setups. Groups workers from the same epoch.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_WORKER_EPOCH=epoch-123
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Indicates the API provider is managed by the host environment. When true, provider selection via CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK/VERTEX/etc. is disabled.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_MANAGED_BY_HOST=1
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: false
- Description: Skip organization check in fast mode. Disables org-level permission checks for fast mode.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_SKIP_FAST_MODE_ORG_CHECK=1
- Type: Boolean (1, true, 0, false)
- Default: true (auto-detected based on terminal)
- Description: Control syntax highlighting in output. Set to 0 to disable, 1 to enable.
- Example:
export CLAUDE_CODE_SYNTAX_HIGHLIGHT=0
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