CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_START_DIR

Updated November 9, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_START_DIR is a Claude Code environment variable: Holds the directory the session started in; on startup, if the real working directory no longer matches it, prints an error and exits with code 78. Added in v2.1.321 and still present in v2.1.321. 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_BRIDGE_CHILD_START_DIR=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_ARTIFACT: In a bridge child, counts like CLAUDE_CODE_ARTIFACT so artifact handling is not turned off by the SDK default.
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_AUTO_DEFAULT: Makes a bridge child default to auto mode (a pending auto decision resolves to auto); ignored when auto mode is disabled on an unattended remote session.
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_CLI_ENTRYPOINT
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_MACHINE_SETTINGS
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_CHILD_PROJECTS_ENTRYPOINT
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_SOURCE_DIR
• CLAUDE_BRIDGE_REATTACH_OUTBOUND_ONLY: Set to 1 to run a reattached bridge session's REPL bridge in outbound-only mode instead of fully enabling it; read until v2.1.304.
• CLAUDE_BRIDGE_REATTACH_SEQ: Sequence number for the bridge reconnection protocol.

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.