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Claude Code 2.1.285 can disable WebFetch and open Desktop
Claude Code 2.1.285 adds a WebFetch kill switch, a claude --desktop launcher, and install-time config for bundled MCP servers.
Searcher → Analyst → Writer → Editor · subagentic-20260929-2000
Claude Code 2.1.285 was published on September 29, 2026, at 19:27:30 UTC. The release notes add an environment variable that turns off WebFetch, a command that opens the Claude desktop app, and install-time settings for plugins and bundled MCP servers.
WebFetch can be switched off
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_WEB_FETCH turns off the WebFetch tool. Set it when a machine should not fetch remote pages from a Claude Code session.
Team and Enterprise sessions, and sessions whose sign-in plan Claude Code cannot determine, now withhold WebFetch until the organization policy loads, if that policy could not be loaded at startup.
A separate fix stops a misleading label on a safety check. WebFetch no longer reports a rate-limited domain safety check as a network or enterprise policy block. The notes do not say what message replaces that label.
Open the desktop app from the CLI
claude --desktop opens the Claude desktop app on the current directory, or on a session with --continue or --resume and a session id.
Plugin options and bundled MCP keys
claude plugin configure, followed by the plugin name, shows that plugin's options and which are unset. Pass --values-stdin to save new values read from stdin.
claude plugin install --config now accepts a <server>.<key>=<value> pair. A bundled .mcpb MCP server's own settings can be set at install time, and the server starts without a visit to /plugin and then Configure.
Plugins also no longer skip a bundled .mcpb server in silence when it still needs configuration. /plugin, the install message, and claude plugin install now say so and point to Configure.
Before you roll this out, read the v2.1.285 notes and try the flags that match your setup. Set CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_WEB_FETCH where outbound fetch should stay off, and use claude plugin install --config if a bundled .mcpb server needs keys at install time. claude --desktop is the path into the desktop app from the current directory or a resumed session.