CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BG_EXIT_HANDOFF

Updated October 23, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BG_EXIT_HANDOFF is a Claude Code environment variable. Added between v2.1.143 and v2.1.212 and still present in v2.1.310. It is listed in the official reference.

How to set it

For one session, export it in the shell that starts Claude Code:

export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BG_EXIT_HANDOFF=<value>
claude

To apply it to every session, add it to the env object of a settings file:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BG_EXIT_HANDOFF": "<value>"
  }
}

Related variables

• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS: Disable background tasks entirely.
• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BG_STABLE_PATH
• CLAUDE_AUTO_BACKGROUND_TASKS: Enable automatic background task execution.
• CLAUDE_BG_BACKEND: Set to "daemon" to route background work through a daemon backend.
• CLAUDE_BG_GATEWAY_WITHHELD: Carries the path of an LLM gateway that was set in your shell but not passed through to a background session opened from another folder.
• CLAUDE_BG_ISOLATION: Isolation mode for background agent processes — controls how separated the daemon's process space is from the foreground session.
• CLAUDE_BG_RENDEZVOUS_SOCK: Socket path for the IPC channel between a foreground Claude session and the background daemon.
• CLAUDE_BG_SOURCE: Tags where a background job originated: CLI, SDK, Remote Control, another agent.

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.