Large Language Models
Oct 29, 2026
Claude Code Sends Background Agent Transcripts to Their Models Regularly
Oct 29, 2026
AI Summary
Claude Code automatically sends the transcripts of background agents to their respective models every 30 seconds. This feature, which has been on by default since version 2.1.232, updates the agent's status line but does not affect user conversations. Users can suppress this behavior using a specific preload script.
- Claude Code sends each background agent's entire transcript to its model every 30 seconds.
- The model typically used for this is Opus, and the updates only affect the agent's status line, not user conversations.
- This feature has been enabled by default since version 2.1.232, released in August 2026.
- Users can suppress the summary timer by using a preload script called no-agent-summary.js, which can be configured in the environment variables.
- The script prevents the summary timer from activating, thereby stopping the transcript updates.
- The effectiveness of the preload script can be verified through OpenTelemetry exports, which should show no agent summary requests if functioning correctly.
- The implementation of this feature has implications for resource usage, with reports indicating a significant share of spend attributed to agent summary requests.
- Users are advised to verify the script's functionality after any updates to Claude Code.
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