CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC is a Claude Code environment variable: Toggles local garbage-collection of on-disk session transcripts, backed by tengu_transcript_local_gc. First shipped v2.1.217; undocumented. Added between v2.1.215 and v2.1.217 and still present in v2.1.294. It is listed in the official reference.

Status	Present in v2.1.294
Added	Added between v2.1.215 and v2.1.217
Category	Other
Official docs	Listed

How to set it

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

export CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC=<value>
claude

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

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

Release notes that mention it

claude-code-env-vars-v2-1-217

Related variables

CLAUDE_CODE_JSONL_TRANSCRIPT
CLAUDE_SSH_LOCAL_BINARY
ANTHROPIC_BETAS: Comma-separated beta feature headers.
ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS: Custom HTTP headers (newline-separated Key: Value).
ANTHROPIC_FEDERATION_RULE_ID
ANTHROPIC_ORGANIZATION_ID
ANTHROPIC_WORKSPACE_ID
BETA_TRACING_ENDPOINT: Custom endpoint for beta tracing.

Frequently asked questions

What does CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC do?

Toggles local garbage-collection of on-disk session transcripts, backed by tengu_transcript_local_gc. First shipped v2.1.217; undocumented.

Which Claude Code version has CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC?

Added between v2.1.215 and v2.1.217 and still present in v2.1.294.

How do I set CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export CLAUDE_CODE_TRANSCRIPT_LOCAL_GC=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.