Claude docs changes for January 23rd, 2026 [diff]

Executive Summary

• New versions 2.1.16-2.1.17: New task management system with dependency tracking and native VS Code plugin management
• TodoWrite replaced with four granular task tools (TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, TaskUpdate)
• WSL2 sandbox support added and prompt caching workspace-level isolation announced for February 5th

New Claude Code versions

2.1.16

New features

• Added new task management system with dependency tracking capabilities
• [VSCode] Added native plugin management support
• [VSCode] Added ability for OAuth users to browse and resume remote Claude sessions from the Sessions dialog

Major bug fixes

• Fixed out-of-memory crashes when resuming sessions with heavy subagent usage
• Fixed an issue where the "context remaining" warning was not hidden after running /compact
• Fixed session titles on the resume screen not respecting the user's language setting
• [IDE] Fixed a race condition on Windows where the Claude Code sidebar view container would not appear on start

2.1.17

Major bug fixes

• Fixed crashes on processors without AVX instruction support

Claude Code changes

Changed documents

best-practices [Source]

• Added reference to "How Claude Code works" documentation for understanding the agentic loop. [line 6] [Source]
• Added reference to "Reduce token usage" documentation for context management strategies. [line 12] [Source]
• Added reference to "Extend Claude Code" documentation for extension features overview. [line 143] [Source]
• Added guidance that CLAUDE.md should only include broadly applicable content, with domain knowledge moved to skills. [lines 168-169] [Source]
• Reorganized extension configuration section to prioritize hooks and skills over plugins. [lines 235-289] [Source]
• Added guidance on customizing compaction behavior with CLAUDE.md instructions. [line 401] [Source]
• Added "Related resources" section with links to key documentation. [lines 580-590] [Source]

claude-code-on-the-web [Source]

• Added new allowed domains for limited network access: docs.claude.com, code.claude.com, npm.pkg.github.com, pkg-npm.githubusercontent.com, gcr.io, index.crates.io, sentry.io, sourceforge.net, datadoghq domains, and modelcontextprotocol.io. [lines 319-550] [Source]

cli-reference [Source]

• Updated subagent model parameter to include "inherit" option and clarified that it defaults to inheriting the main conversation's model. [line 80] [Source]

common-workflows [Source]

• Added reference to "Best practices" documentation. [line 3] [Source]
• Removed "Create custom skills and commands" and "Let Claude interview you" sections (content consolidated elsewhere). [lines 324-450] [Source]
• Updated "Next steps" section with links to Best practices, How Claude Code works, and Extend Claude Code documentation. [lines 1132-1140] [Source]

features-overview [Source]

• Clarified that subagents are useful when context window is getting full, as subagent work doesn't consume main context. [line 55] [Source]
• Added new section explaining how features layer at multiple levels (user-wide, per-project, via plugins, managed policies) with override and merge behavior. [lines 78-85] [Source]

gitlab-ci-cd [Source]

• Simplified allowedTools syntax by removing glob patterns (e.g., "Bash Read Edit Write" instead of "Bash() Read() Edit() Write()"). [lines 83-375] [Source]

hooks [Source]

• Split Stop and SubagentStop input documentation into separate sections with distinct fields. [lines 752-777] [Source]
• Added cwd field to Stop hook input. [line 766] [Source]
• Added new SubagentStop hook input documentation with agent_id and agent_transcript_path fields. [lines 773-777] [Source]
• Added cwd and model fields to SessionStart hook input, with explanation of source field values. [lines 843-851] [Source]
• Added new SubagentStart hook input documentation with agent_id and agent_type fields. [lines 854-870] [Source]

iam [Source]

• Added clarification about gitignore pattern matching behavior and how to allow all file access. [line 157] [Source]

ide-integrations [Source]

• Added new section for resuming remote Claude.ai sessions from VS Code with OAuth subscription. [lines 93-115] [Source]
• Added new section documenting the graphical plugin management interface in VS Code. [lines 141-173] [Source]

interactive-mode [Source]

• Added new section documenting the task list feature with Ctrl+T toggle, persistence, and CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID environment variable. [lines 253-260] [Source]

mcp [Source]

• Added Webflow MCP server to the built-in integrations list. [lines 397-401] [Source]
• Added clarification that "local scope" for MCP servers differs from general local settings file locations. [line 701] [Source]

sandboxing [Source]

• Added WSL2 support documentation with bubblewrap and socat installation prerequisites. [lines 47-78] [Source]
• Updated platform support to specify WSL2 support and WSL1 limitations. [line 229] [Source]

settings [Source]

• Updated sandboxing documentation to include WSL2 support. [lines 274-282] [Source]
• Updated allowFilesMatchingPatterns description to clarify it excludes files from discovery and denies read operations. [line 495] [Source]
• Added CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID environment variable documentation. [line 868] [Source]
• Replaced TodoWrite tool with four new task management tools: TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, and TaskUpdate. [lines 935-938] [Source]

setup [Source]

• Added note that WSL2 supports sandboxing while WSL1 does not. [line 225] [Source]

skills [Source]

• Clarified skill priority override behavior and plugin skill namespacing. [line 92] [Source]

troubleshooting [Source]

• Added new section for WSL2 sandbox setup with package installation instructions. [lines 56-79] [Source]
• Removed "allowed tools" from configuration file locations description. [lines 223-255] [Source]

vs-code [Source]

• Added new section for resuming remote Claude.ai sessions from VS Code with OAuth subscription. [lines 93-115] [Source]
• Added new section documenting the graphical plugin management interface in VS Code. [lines 141-173] [Source]

API changes

Changed documents

agents-and-tools/remote-mcp-servers [Source]

• Added Webflow MCP server to the integrations list for managing CMS, pages, assets and sites. [lines 555-561] [Source]

api/client-sdks [Source]

• Added minimum SDK version requirements: Python SDK 0.22.0 and TypeScript SDK 0.37.0. [lines 15-31] [Source]

build-with-claude/extended-thinking [Source]

• Changed error behavior when toggling thinking mid-turn to graceful degradation instead of hard errors - thinking is now automatically disabled with silent stripping of thinking blocks. [lines 211-226] [Source]
• Updated guidance on thinking blocks in cached contexts - now thinking content is stripped when disabled rather than causing request failures. [line 295] [Source]

build-with-claude/prompt-caching [Source]

• Added important notice that prompt caching will use workspace-level isolation starting February 5, 2026 (applies to Claude API and Azure only). [line 338] [Source]

build-with-claude/workspaces [Source]

• Added note that prompt caches will be workspace-isolated starting February 5, 2026 (Claude API and Azure only). [line 172] [Source]