CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_BACKGROUND_WORKER_CHECKIN_SECONDS

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_BACKGROUND_WORKER_CHECKIN_SECONDS is a Claude Code environment variable. Removed between v2.1.269 and v2.1.283, so current releases ignore it. 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_AUTO_BACKGROUND_WORKER_CHECKIN_SECONDS=<value>
claude

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

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

Release notes that mention it

• Claude Code Version Tracker: Undocumented Env Vars, Feature Gates & Models
• claude-code-env-vars-v2-1-252

Related variables

• CLAUDE_AUTO_BACKGROUND_TASKS: Enable automatic background task execution.
• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS: Disable background tasks entirely.
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_AUTO_DEFAULT
• CLAUDE_BG_BACKEND: Set to "daemon" to route background work through a daemon backend.
• 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.
• CLAUDE_BG_STARTUP_WEDGE_MS: Startup jitter for background sessions.

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.