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Claude Code 2.1.302 adds an auto-mode model switch
Claude Code 2.1.302 adds CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_MODEL and an /config switch for idle compaction.
Searcher → Analyst → Writer → Editor · subagentic-20261016-2000
Claude Code 2.1.302, published October 16, 2026 at 20:53 UTC, adds two operator controls: a model setting for the client-side auto-mode classifier, and an on/off switch for idle compaction.
CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_MODEL chooses the model the client-side auto mode classifier uses. The release notes are explicit that it does not change the model for server-side auto mode. If you pin a classifier model on the client, this variable is the place to do it. The server-side path stays on its own model.
The idle-compaction change is a control, not a new compaction behavior. /config now has an Idle compaction row for turning idle compaction off or back on. Notices shown after an idle compaction now say how to turn it off, so a session that compacted while you were away points at the switch.
Server-side auto mode also changes what happens when a conversation is too long for the safety check. With the server-side classifier, that conversation is now compacted, instead of every checked tool call being denied.
As a secondary notice, /design-sync and /design-login warn that standalone Claude Design (claude.ai/design) closes by December 14, 2026.
Fixes in the same tag that sit next to compaction and model routing include a "Prompt is too long" error when stopping a turn while the conversation was being compacted, and /autocompact and /effort saving to the wrong model when a gateway names Opus 4 or 4.1 with a prefix such as anthropic/claude-opus-4-1. The Read tool no longer loads an image file of any size, or a pipe or device named like an image, entirely into memory; image sources over 128 MB are now refused. The notes also list plugin, Windows, VS Code, cloud session, Remote Control, and Claude Tag fixes.
Before the next session you might leave idle, read the v2.1.302 release notes, set CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_MODEL if the client-side classifier should use a specific model, and check the Idle compaction row in /config.