●Change8

Claude Code: What's New in July 2026

A summary of all updates, new features, and bug fixes released for Claude Code during July 2026.

1releases6features18fixes7improvements
← June 2026

New Features in July 2026

  • Enabled Claude in Chrome for general availability.(v2.1.198)
  • Added background agent notifications in `claude agents` for sessions needing input or completion via the `Notification` hook.(v2.1.198)
  • Added `/dataviz` skill for chart and dashboard design guidance, including a runnable color-palette validator.(v2.1.198)
  • Enabled background agents launched from `claude agents` to automatically commit, push, and open a draft PR upon finishing code work in a worktree.(v2.1.198)
  • Made the built-in Explore agent inherit the main session's model (capped at opus) instead of defaulting to haiku.(v2.1.198)
  • Ensured subagents and context compaction now inherit the session's extended thinking configuration for improved output quality on delegated tasks.(v2.1.198)

Bug Fixes in July 2026

  • Fixed turns aborting due to brief network drops mid-response; transient errors like ECONNRESET now retry with backoff instead of failing.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed excessive background classifier requests when sandboxed processes repeatedly accessed the same network host.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed background tasks in web, desktop, and VS Code task panels getting stuck on "Running" after they finish or resume.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed agent teams so a teammate dying on an API error now reports "failed" to the lead, and messaging a stuck teammate wakes it to retry immediately.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed the `/diff` panel not refreshing when switching branches or commits outside the session.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed markdown tables overflowing and wrapping their right border when rendered in fullscreen mode.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed Claude Platform on AWS and Mantle sessions dead-ending with "Please run /login" upon STS token expiration by automatically running `awsAuthRefresh`.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed "no route to host" errors for local-network hosts in macOS background agent sessions by declaring Local Network entitlements.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed `/desktop` failing with "Cannot determine working directory" after entering and exiting a worktree.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed background agents repeatedly showing "Reconnecting…" every ~52 seconds on macOS while the agents view was open.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed pressing `←` inside `claude attach <id>` exiting to the shell instead of opening the agent view.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed `claude --bg` silently creating an unattachable session when combined with `--print`/`-p`; conflicting flags are now rejected.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed the workflow progress view dropping the earliest agents from the list while the phase counter remained correct in SDK and desktop-app sessions.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed conditional rules in `.claude/rules/` not loading when the target file is reached via a symlinked path.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed Cmd+click not opening URLs in fullscreen mode in Warp on macOS.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed double-click word selection in fullscreen mode to correctly select the entire URL including the scheme.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed plan mode not auto-allowing read-only tool calls when a session starts in plan mode.(v2.1.198)
  • Fixed `/branch` deriving its default fork name from the compaction summary instead of the first real prompt.(v2.1.198)

Improvements in July 2026

  • Improved focus mode: subagents launched in a turn now appear in its activity summary, and completed background notifications fold into a single count.(v2.1.198)
  • Improved syntax highlighting accuracy in code blocks, diffs, and file previews by upgrading to highlight.js 11.(v2.1.198)
  • Updated keyboard shortcut hints to show opt/cmd instead of alt/super when connected from a Mac over SSH.(v2.1.198)
  • Improved API retry UX: the error reason is now shown after the second attempt, and a status page link replaces the spinner tip when the API is overloaded.(v2.1.198)
  • Updated `/login` to open the sign-in dialog from the `claude agents` view instead of stating it isn't available.(v2.1.198)
  • Subagents now treat messages from the launching agent as normal task direction; an agent's message is never treated as user approval.(v2.1.198)
  • Removed the `/agents` wizard; users should now ask Claude to create/manage subagents or edit `.claude/agents/` directly.(v2.1.198)

All Releases in July 2026

v2.1.1986 features18 fixes

This release makes Claude in Chrome generally available and introduces a new `/dataviz` skill for generating charts and dashboards. Key fixes address network stability, agent reliability, and UI issues across desktop and web clients. Additionally, background agents now automatically complete code work by committing and opening draft PRs.