CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES

Updated October 14, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES is a Claude Code environment variable. Added in v2.1.293 and still present in v2.1.295. It is not in the official reference.

Status	Present in v2.1.295
Added	Added in v2.1.293
Category	Plugins and skills
Official docs	Not listed

How to set it

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

export CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

CLAUDE_API_SKILL_DESCRIPTION: Registration hook for the built-in "claude-api" skill that bundles Anthropic SDK docs (Python, TypeScript, Java, Go, Ruby, PHP, C#, curl) plus shared references on models, prompt caching, managed agents, and tool use.
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CLAUDE_API_SKILL: Disables the built-in Claude API skill.
CLAUDE_CODE_HOST_SKILL_CATALOG: A JSON object ({"skills": [...]}) of 1 to 64 folder names that scopes which synced claude.ai skills a remote session loads.
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_CLAUDE_CODE_SKILL
CLAUDE_CODE_SKILL_ATTRIBUTION
CLAUDE_CODE_SKILL_DESC_REFRAME
CLAUDE_CODE_SKILL_DESCRIPTION
CLAUDE_CODE_SKILL_NAME

Frequently asked questions

Which Claude Code version has CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES?

Added in v2.1.293 and still present in v2.1.295.

How do I set CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export CLAUDE_CODE_DESKTOP_SKILL_SWITCHES=value), or add it to the "env" object in ~/.claude/settings.json to apply it to every session.

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.