CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_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_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_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_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS": "<value>"
  }
}

Related variables

CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS
CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG: Tunes the retry watchdog that detects API calls silently looping without progress.
BASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS
CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_RETRIES: Maximum API request retries.
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_SYNC_SKILLS_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS
CLAUDE_ENABLE_BYTE_WATCHDOG: Activates a byte-level watchdog on API response streams.
CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG: Enable stream health monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

Which Claude Code version has CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS?

Its release history is not tracked here.

How do I set CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_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.