Anthropic · 2026-07-01 · major
Claude Code 2.1.198 — subagents run in the background by default
Claude Code 2.1.198 flips subagents to background-by-default so the main turn keeps working while they run, promotes Claude in Chrome to GA, and ships a /dataviz skill for chart and dashboard design.
Claude Code's subagents now run in the background by default and Claude in Chrome reaches general availability.
Quick facts
| Maker | Anthropic |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.1.198 |
| Released | July 1, 2026 |
| Default model | Claude Sonnet 5 (since 2.1.197) |
| Headline change | Subagents background-by-default |
| Claude in Chrome | Generally available |
| Install | npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code |
What is it?
Subagents in Claude Code 2.1.198 flip from foreground to background by default: the main conversation keeps running while a subagent works, and Claude gets notified when the subagent finishes so it can pick the result up mid-turn. The release also moves Claude in Chrome from beta to general availability and adds a `/dataviz` skill for chart and dashboard design.
How does it work?
Background agents launched from `claude agents` commit, push, and open a draft PR when they finish worktree code work, and the built-in Explore agent now inherits the main session's model (capped at Opus) instead of running on Haiku. Subagents and context compaction inherit the session's extended-thinking configuration, and transient errors like ECONNRESET retry with backoff instead of aborting the turn.
Why does it matter?
Foreground subagents used to stall the main chat while research or mechanical work ran; making them background-first turns Claude Code into a fan-out orchestrator without blocking the user. Auto-commit-and-draft-PR on background agents makes hands-off ticket work practical, and Claude in Chrome hitting GA takes the browser-agent story out of pilot mode.
Who is it for?
Claude Code power users, agentic-coding teams, and anyone running long-lived subagents
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install or update to Claude Code 2.1.198?
- Claude Code 2.1.198 installs from npm with `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code`, and existing users can pull it in-place with `claude update`. The release requires no config changes and inherits the session's existing model and extended-thinking settings when you relaunch.
- Which model does Claude Code default to after 2.1.198?
- Claude Code has defaulted to Claude Sonnet 5 since the 2.1.197 release on June 30, 2026, with a 1M-token context window and promotional pricing of $2 / $10 per million input/output tokens through August 31. Version 2.1.198 keeps Sonnet 5 as the default.
- What is the /dataviz skill in Claude Code 2.1.198?
- The /dataviz skill in Claude Code 2.1.198 gives Claude chart and dashboard design guidance plus a runnable color-palette validator, so Claude can propose accessible, brand-consistent visualizations across libraries like matplotlib, Plotly, D3, and Recharts instead of picking arbitrary chart colors.
- What happens when a Claude Code background subagent finishes?
- In Claude Code 2.1.198, `claude agents` sessions fire the `Notification` hook with `agent_needs_input` or `agent_completed` events, and background agents launched in a worktree automatically commit, push, and open a draft pull request when they finish their code work — no manual handoff step.
Try it
claude update # or: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.1.198