Claude Code turns fork subagents on by default across the SDK, desktop app and VS Code

Your move: Fork subagents now default in claude -p, Agent SDK, desktop and VS Code; CLAUDE_CODE_FORK_SUBAGENT=0 opts out

Claude Code v2.1.302 makes fork subagents the default in `claude -p`, the Agent SDK, the desktop app and VS Code, as they already were in the terminal. A fork is a subagent that starts with a copy of the current conversation instead of starting cold: it inherits the context and runs on the same model. The Agent tool now documents when to fork, and `CLAUDE_CODE_FORK_SUBAGENT=0` or the new `forkSubagentDisabled` setting turns forks off.

Why it matters

Cold-start subagents lose the context that made delegation worth doing; forks keep it, so handing work off in a long session actually pays. Making forking the default on every surface says Anthropic sees it as the standard pattern, not an experiment.

Source: Anthropic ↗

Published by Agent Log. The summary reports the linked source; “Why it matters” and the verdict are Agent Log's interpretation.

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