Claude Code v2.1.143: Enhanced Plugin Management and Background Session Improvements

The Claude Code development team has released version 2.1.143, bringing substantial improvements to plugin management, background session handling, and cross-platform compatibility. This release focuses on making Claude Code more intelligent about dependencies and providing better user experience across different operating systems.

What’s New

Smart Plugin Dependency Management

Claude Code now enforces plugin dependencies intelligently. When you try to disable a plugin that other enabled plugins depend on, the system will refuse the action and provide a copy-pasteable command chain to disable dependencies in the correct order. Conversely, enabling a plugin will automatically force-enable any required dependencies.

Context Cost Transparency

The /plugin marketplace now displays projected context costs, showing per-turn and per-invocation token estimates. This helps you make informed decisions about which plugins to enable based on their computational overhead.

Enhanced Background Sessions

Background sessions now preserve your model and effort level settings when waking from idle
New worktree.bgIsolation: "none" setting allows background sessions to edit working copies directly without EnterWorktree for repositories where worktrees are impractical
Fixed multiple issues including goal evaluator timing, session management, and stale fragment rendering
Improved handling of worker-stall detection after system sleep or macOS App Nap

PowerShell Integration Improvements

PowerShell tool now runs with -ExecutionPolicy Bypass by default, making it more accessible for Windows users. You can opt out by setting CLAUDE_CODE_POWERSHELL_RESPECT_EXECUTION_POLICY=1. The PowerShell tool is now enabled by default for Bedrock, Vertex, and Foundry users on Windows.

Agent Management Enhancements

The claude agents command now accepts additional configuration options including --add-dir, --settings, --mcp-config, --plugin-dir, --permission-mode, --model, and --effort, providing more control over session defaults and dashboard behavior.

Quality of Life Improvements

Shift+Tab in attached agent sessions now includes auto mode in the cycling
Fixed corrupt .credentials.json handling that could hang the CLI
Improved error messages for 5xx errors to show the actual configured gateway
Better handling of NO_COLOR/FORCE_COLOR environment variables
Fixed /loop cancellation and /goal evaluator timing issues

How to Update

To update to Claude Code v2.1.143, use your package manager or download the latest version from the official repository. Existing configurations will be automatically migrated, but review the new PowerShell and worktree settings if you have specific requirements.

# Update via your package manager or
# Download from the release page