ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING

Updated October 13, 2026 by Alex Sorokoletov

ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING is a Claude Code environment variable: Enable session backgrounding. Its release history is not tracked here. It is not in the official reference.

Status	Present in v2.1.294
Category	Sessions
Official docs	Not listed

How to set it

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

export ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING=<value>
claude

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

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

Related variables

CLAUDE_BRIDGE_REATTACH_SESSION: Session identity used during bridge reconnection.
CLAUDE_CODE_BRIDGE_SESSION_ID
CLAUDE_CODE_CHILD_SESSION
CLAUDE_CODE_EMIT_SESSION_STATE_EVENTS: Controls whether Claude Code emits session state change events.
CLAUDE_CODE_FORCE_SESSION_PERSISTENCE
CLAUDE_CODE_POST_FOR_SESSION_INGRESS_V2: Use POST-based session ingress v2.
CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTE_SESSION_ID: Remote session identifier.
CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTE_SESSION_ORIGIN: Provenance tag for cloud/remote sessions, checked against the value "review".

Frequently asked questions

What does ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING do?

Enable session backgrounding

Which Claude Code version has ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING?

Its release history is not tracked here.

How do I set ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING?

Export it before starting Claude Code (export ENABLE_SESSION_BACKGROUNDING=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.