CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_SWARMS

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_SWARMS is a Claude Code environment variable: Replaced by CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS. Its release history is not tracked here. It is not in the official reference.

How to set it

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

export CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_SWARMS=<value>
claude

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

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

Release notes that mention it

• 165 Environment Variables in Claude Code 2.1.69 — What Changed in 50 Versions
• 83 Undocumented Claude Code Environment Variables (v2.1.19)

Related variables

• CLAUDE_AGENT: Short-form identifier for the current agent, used in inter-agent messaging and log attribution.
• CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_CLIENT_APP: Client application name.
• CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_DISABLE_BUILTIN_AGENTS: Disable built-in agent types.
• CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_MCP_NO_PREFIX: Don't prefix MCP tool names with server name.
• CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_VERSION: Agent SDK version sent in User-Agent header.
• CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT: Full agent descriptor passed into a spawned agent process — likely the agent's frontmatter (tools, allowed/disallowed lists, system prompt path) so the child can reconstruct its runtime without re-reading disk.
• CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_COST_STEER: Controls cost-aware behavior for subagent delegation.
• CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_LIST_IN_MESSAGES: An early agent-listing toggle, made obsolete by the Agent View and coordinator surfaces that now own how agents are shown.

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.