CLAUDE_CODE_WEB_SEARCH_REFILLS_PER_HOUR

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_CODE_WEB_SEARCH_REFILLS_PER_HOUR is a Claude Code environment variable: Sets how many web-search budget refills accrue per hour, overriding the value the feature gate serves. It accepts 0 to 3600 and defaults to 100 when unset; the per-session budget it refills defaults to 200 (CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_WEB_SEARCHES_PER_SESSION). Added in v2.1.290. Added in v2.1.290 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_WEB_SEARCH_REFILLS_PER_HOUR=<value>
claude

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

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

Release notes that mention it

• Claude Code Version Tracker: Undocumented Env Vars, Feature Gates & Models
• claude-code-env-vars-v2-1-290

Related variables

• CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_WEB_SEARCHES_PER_SESSION: Per-session ceiling on WebSearch tool calls (default 200), gated by a web_search_session_cap.
• CLAUDE_CODE_WEB_SEARCH_FAST_ARG
• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_WEB_FETCH: Turns off the WebFetch tool.
• ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH: Tool search/deferred loading: auto, true, false, or 0–100%.
• BASH_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH: Max bash output character length.
• CLAUDE_BASH_MAINTAIN_PROJECT_WORKING_DIR: Maintain consistent working directory across commands.
• CLAUDE_BASH_NO_LOGIN: Replaced by CLAUDE_CODE_SHELL_PREFIX.
• CLAUDE_CODE_BASH_EDIT_DIFF

Frequently asked questions

All variables, searchable: Claude Code environment variables.