CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG is a Claude Code environment variable: Enable stream health monitoring. Present since v2.1.69 or earlier and still present in v2.1.294. It is listed in the official reference.

Status	Present in v2.1.294
Added	Present since v2.1.69 or earlier
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_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

CLAUDE_ENABLE_BYTE_WATCHDOG: Activates a byte-level watchdog on API response streams.
CLAUDE_BYTE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_MEMORY_STREAM_LIST: Turns off the incremental metadata-streaming path inside multi-store memory sync.
CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_FINE_GRAINED_TOOL_STREAMING: Enable fine-grained (eager) input streaming for tools.
CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG: Tunes the retry watchdog that detects API calls silently looping without progress.
CLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG_MAX_WAIT_MS
CLAUDE_STREAM_FIRST_BYTE_TIMEOUT_MS
CLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS: Configures the streaming idle watchdog threshold — the maximum time Claude Code waits for data on an open SSE connection before treating it as stalled.

Frequently asked questions

What does CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG do?

Enable stream health monitoring

Which Claude Code version has CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG?

Present since v2.1.69 or earlier and still present in v2.1.294.

How do I set CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG=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.