CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_PROMPT

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_PROMPT is a Claude Code environment variable: Set the prompt injected when resuming a session. If you build on top of Claude Code's resume capability and want Claude to get oriented differently on re-entry — "you were in the middle of X, the current state is Y" — inject that here rather than as the first user message, keeping the conversation structure cleaner. Added between v2.1.138 and v2.1.143 and still present in v2.1.294. 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_RESUME_PROMPT=<value>
claude

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

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

Release notes that mention it

• Claude Code v2.1.143 — 27 New Env Vars, /goal, Agent View, and a Free Model Upgrade

Related variables

• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_FROM_SESSION: Instructs Claude Code to bootstrap a new session's context from an existing session ID.
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_INTERRUPTED_TURN: Resume an interrupted agent turn.
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_INTERRUPTED_TURN_MAX_AGE_MS
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_THRESHOLD_MINUTES: Sets the time window (in minutes) during which a session is eligible for automatic resume.
• CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_PROMPT_SHA256
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_PROMPT00
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_REASON
• CLAUDE_CODE_RESUME_SOURCE_ALIVE

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.