CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS is a Claude Code environment variable. Its release history is not tracked here. It is listed in the official reference.

Status	Present in v2.1.294
Category	Network and proxy
Official docs	Listed

How to set it

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

export CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_BASE_DELAY_MS: Sets the base delay, in milliseconds, for the backoff when a request comes back overloaded (HTTP 529).
CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS
BASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS
CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_RETRIES: Maximum API request retries.
CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG: Tunes the retry watchdog that detects API calls silently looping without progress.
MAX_STRUCTURED_OUTPUT_RETRIES
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_REFUSAL_RETRY
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: Custom endpoint for Anthropic services.

Frequently asked questions

Which Claude Code version has CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS?

Its release history is not tracked here.

How do I set CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS=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.