CLAUDE_CODE_TOOL_PICTURE_SERVERS

Updated November 9, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_TOOL_PICTURE_SERVERS is a Claude Code environment variable: Comma-separated allowlist of MCP server names; only a tool result from a listed server gets the inline picture handling, others are returned unchanged. 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_TOOL_PICTURE_SERVERS=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_ADVISOR_TOOL: Disables what appears to be an internal advisory tool.
• CLAUDE_CODE_DROP_UNAVAILABLE_DEFERRED_TOOL: When true, a deferred tool that becomes unavailable is dropped rather than kept registered while it is gone.
• CLAUDE_CODE_EMIT_TOOL_USE_SUMMARIES: Emit tool use summary events.
• CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_ADVISOR_TOOL: Enables the experimental Advisor Tool — a server-side tool with its own advisorModel config option.
• CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_TOOL_USE_CONCURRENCY: Max concurrent tool executions; default 10.
• CLAUDE_CODE_PEWTER_OWL_TOOL: When set to true, it can stop certain tool results from ending the agent's turn, so the agent keeps going instead of returning control to the user.
• CLAUDE_CODE_TOOL_MEMORY_CGROUP_EXCLUDE
• CLAUDE_CODE_TOOL_MEMORY_LIMIT: Caps memory for Bash tool commands via a Linux/WSL cgroup so a runaway build cannot stall the session.

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.