Verdict, November 5, 2026. OP if a claude -p job, an Agent SDK run, or a shared network home still uses a stored claude.ai sign-in, or if --continue lost the earlier conversation after a malformed tool call on 2.1.314 or newer. Claude Code 2.1.318, dated November 4, puts that end date on claude auth status and on claude -p JSON, warns on stderr 10 days out, and stops a failed shared-home save from looking like success. Mid for a single-user machine on an API key, Bedrock, Vertex, Foundry, or apiKeyHelper that does not resume those sessions. Mid as a reason to move the letter. Claude Code stays A on the October 15 AI Coding Agents list. S stays locked. OP or Mid has not run this build.
Pages below were read November 5, 2026. The changelog entry and the GitHub release are dated November 4. Behavior the changelog describes is a vendor claim. On that read, 2.1.318 is the newest entry.
Read the date before the job dies
BUFF 2.1.318 adds the date a stored claude.ai sign-in ends to claude auth status as loginExpiresAt, and to claude -p JSON results as credential_expires_at. Text output from claude -p gets a one-line stderr warning starting 10 days before that sign-in ends. When the login hits its time limit, the failure says so, and claude -p names claude auth login and claude setup-token. Source: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
Those names are the changelog's. The CLI reference still describes claude auth status as JSON with authMethod (none, claude.ai, oauth_token, api_key, api_key_helper, or third_party) and configDirectory on v2.1.268 or later. Exit 0 means logged in. Exit 1 means not. The page does not list loginExpiresAt. --output-format json on the headless page is result, session ID, and metadata, with no credential_expires_at. The changelog gives no sample, no date format, and no word on stream-json. On 2.1.318 or newer, print claude auth status and look for the key before a script requires it. Sources: CLI reference (opens in a new tab), headless (opens in a new tab).
NERF A /login credential within three days of expiring shows a startup warning, and that warning does not block a request. Requests fail once the stored login expires and cannot be refreshed. The warning is only for an active claude.ai login, not for a cloud provider, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, or apiKeyHelper. The authentication page does not mention the 10-day stderr line. A script that watches only the interactive startup line will miss the new warning. Source: Renew an expiring login (opens in a new tab).
claude setup-token prints a one-year OAuth token and does not save it. Set CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN. It needs a Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise plan, and it can only make model requests. This article does not claim the 10-day warning fires for that token. 2.1.318 also stops refusing a setup-token credential at start under forceLoginOrgUUID when the token belongs to a permitted organization. Sources: long-lived token (opens in a new tab), 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
A failed save on a shared home used to look like success
BUFF On a shared network home, /logout, claude auth logout, and claude mcp remove could report success, and trust, consent, or MCP changes could be dropped with no word, when the config file could not be updated. 2.1.318 marks that fixed. Saves of ~/.claude.json, settings files, and the stored login are less often deleted, briefly emptied, or replaced by a near-empty or older copy. "Less often" is the changelog's wording. A network home with no room left for data, that still accepts new files, could replace the stored login with an empty file. That case is marked fixed. If the configuration file is wrongly reported as missing, the session looks again, so fewer start without MCP servers and trusted folders. claude mcp add and remove now wait for the config lock or exit 1. Another job's save can still replace a saved server. A second sign-in to the same account and organization, from another terminal or host on the same home, no longer makes jobs exit Not logged in. The notes do not say this about a different organization. Source: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
NERF A non-interactive start no longer replaces a ~/.claude.json that is not valid JSON with defaults. The start fails, says how to restore the file, and leaves the file as it is. The changelog points at issue 87551 for that line. The printed restore command no longer names an empty or cut-off backup, and no longer fails on a read-only file. An empty ~/.claude.json with no backup is no longer called corrupted, and Claude Code starts as it does when the file is missing. A home that only runs claude -p gets a fresh backup before retention cleanup deletes the last good one. Unattended runs, including SDK apps, stop rewriting ~/.claude.json when nothing in it changed. A job that used to come up on defaults from a damaged file now fails until someone restores it. Source: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
--continue after a bad tool call
BUFF --continue sometimes lost the earlier conversation after a malformed tool call's retries ran out. The November 4 notes call that a regression in 2.1.314, fixed in 2.1.318, and they publish no error string. Upgrade if claude --version is 2.1.314 or newer and older than 2.1.318. The October 21 note on 2.1.305 was a different failure, tool search on Bedrock, Vertex, and gateways. The same release marks two trust bugs fixed: claude -p and Agent SDK sessions reporting success when an API error cut off a reply while a mod hooked turn.step, and a headless Stop that left a message running after a model change. A restart could also re-send an API-error message ahead of the newer one, or drop an interrupted turn right after a large image or a tool retry. OP or Mid did not reproduce any of these. Source: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
The IDE terminal no longer updates the extension
NERF Claude Code no longer installs or updates the IDE extension when started in an IDE terminal. Use /ide from an outside terminal, or the editor's extensions view. The settings reference says startup does not install the extension, and that /ide from an external terminal can install it in a running VS Code, Cursor, or Devin Desktop unless autoInstallIdeExtension is false. The default is true. In the integrated terminal, /ide reports no IDE when the extension is absent. The extension's version number is the Claude Code version it bundles. A terminal start that no longer updates it leaves the panel on the build the Extensions view already shows. Sources: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab), autoInstallIdeExtension (opens in a new tab), Run CLI in VS Code (opens in a new tab).
A cloud session can start with no repository
BUFF A cloud session on an Anthropic-hosted environment can start with a No repository option, without picking a repository. The web quickstart still says you need a GitHub repository to get started, and that cloud sessions work with existing GitHub repositories. OP or Mid did not start a session. Treat the quickstart as not yet matching the changelog. The notes do not say this about a self-hosted environment. Sources: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab), web quickstart (opens in a new tab).
Two quieter changes
NERF deniedMcpServers URL entries also block Anthropic-provided servers whose upstream URL matches, and connectors in cloud sessions and on self-hosted runners, where the session is given the connector's own URL. Otherwise deny a connector by name. Resuming a conversation started on 2.1.286 or earlier can drop the model's earlier thinking. The 2.1.288 fix that kept it is gone. Source: 2.1.318 (opens in a new tab).
How to get the build
Run claude --version. On a native install, claude update applies an update immediately instead of waiting for the next background check, and it follows autoUpdatesChannel. "latest" is the default. "stable" is typically about a week old and skips releases with major regressions. claude install accepts a version such as 2.1.118, so claude install 2.1.318 is the documented form for this patch. Homebrew, WinGet, apt, dnf, and apk do not auto-update through Claude Code by default. A custom ~/.local/bin/claude launcher is left in place, so the new binary can sit under ~/.local/share/claude/versions/ and not be the one you run. Sources: changelog (opens in a new tab), setup (opens in a new tab), CLI reference (opens in a new tab).
The board stays put
No letter moves. Claude Code stays in A. S stays locked. This is a client patch in front of that rank. The Claude row is unchanged.
What to do today
- On a stored claude.ai login, get to 2.1.318, run
claude auth status, and look forloginExpiresAt. On textclaude -p, watch stderr starting 10 days out. - On a shared network home, upgrade before you trust a success line from logout or
claude mcp remove. A~/.claude.jsonthat is not valid JSON now fails a non-interactive start and is left as it is. - On 2.1.314 or newer, and older than 2.1.318, upgrade before you trust
--continueafter a malformed tool call's retries ran out. - Update the IDE extension from the extensions view, or from
/idein an outside terminal. RecheckdeniedMcpServersURL entries before you assume a connector still connects. - Use No repository only for an Anthropic-hosted cloud session you want without a repo. The quickstart still describes a GitHub repository.
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The OP or Mid Team
Sources
Checked November 5, 2026.
- Claude Code changelog: 2.1.318 (November 4, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Claude Code v2.1.318 on GitHub, published November 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- CLI reference, claude auth status, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Run Claude Code programmatically, structured output, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Authentication: renew an expiring login, and generate a long-lived token, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Update Claude Code, release channel, and auto-updates, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- autoInstallIdeExtension, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- VS Code: run the CLI in the editor, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Claude Code on the web, quickstart, read November 5, 2026 (opens in a new tab)