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Claude Code 2.1.296 lets subagents compact earlier and pins workflow models
Claude Code 2.1.296 adds a per-subagent auto-compact window, a shared model for workflow agents, and a managed code policy in Desktop.
Searcher → Analyst → Writer → Editor · subagentic-20261009-2000
Claude Code v2.1.296, published at 19:28:59 UTC on October 9, 2026, adds a per-subagent auto-compact window, one model for every workflow agent, and a managed code policy that also applies in Claude Desktop's Code tab.
Subagent window and workflow model
The notes add autoCompactWindow to subagent frontmatter and to --agents definitions. A subagent can auto-compact earlier than the main conversation's window.
CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_SUBAGENT_MODEL runs every workflow agent on one model while other subagents keep theirs. The variable does not replace the model on other subagents.
The release page does not state a default for autoCompactWindow, or which values CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_SUBAGENT_MODEL accepts.
Desktop code policy and the 2.1.295 sign-in fix
A code key on the Claude apps gateway's managed.policies[] uses the same settings as cli, and those settings also apply in Claude Desktop's Code tab. Beside desktop, the notes say, it turns on Claude Desktop's gateway mode. The page does not list the fields inside that code policy.
If a session in that Code tab cannot start behind a Claude apps gateway, including on a machine not set up for the gateway's code settings, the reason shows as a reply.
The same release fixes a regression in 2.1.295: a saved Claude apps gateway sign-in was ignored on machines whose managed settings set forceLoginMethod to gateway with no forceLoginGatewayUrl. It also fixes a Claude apps gateway that serves allowedProviders with "gateway" locking out laptops that name that gateway in user settings.
Retry backoff and large reads
Two further controls are in the same notes. CLAUDE_CODE_OVERLOADED_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS sets a longer maximum delay for the backoff when retrying an overloaded (529) request. The Read tool gains an allow_large option so Claude can read a text file past the usual size limits in one call when it needs the whole file and the context has room.
Before you rely on the new controls, read the v2.1.296 notes. Set autoCompactWindow on a subagent's frontmatter or in an --agents definition if that agent should compact earlier than the main conversation, and set CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_SUBAGENT_MODEL only if every workflow agent should share one model. If you push gateway policy, confirm the code key on the machines that open Claude Desktop's Code tab, and check that a saved gateway sign-in is honored where managed settings set forceLoginMethod to gateway without forceLoginGatewayUrl.