ClaudeWorld Weekly - January 11, 2026

Hey Claude Code developers!

It’s the second week of 2026, and the Claude Code team has shipped several important updates in just a few days. This week’s highlights include the Slash Commands and Skills merge in v2.1.3 and a critical security fix in v2.1.2. Let’s dive into what’s new!

This Week’s Highlight

Claude Code 2.1.4 Released

The latest version introduces the CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS environment variable, allowing you to completely disable background tasks and the Ctrl+B shortcut. OAuth token handling has also been improved with better refresh and retry logic.

Key Updates

v2.1.3: Slash Commands & Skills Merged

A significant simplification! Slash Commands and Skills now share a unified mental model with no change in behavior. The update also adds a stable/latest release channel toggle in /config.

v2.1.3: Hook Timeout Extended to 10 Minutes

Tool hook timeout has been extended from 60 seconds to 10 minutes, enabling more complex pre-processing and post-processing logic.

v2.1.2: Clickable File Paths

In terminals that support OSC 8 (like iTerm), file paths in tool output are now clickable hyperlinks.

v2.1.2: Windows winget Support

Windows users can now install Claude Code using the Windows Package Manager (winget)!

Security Notice

Critical Security Fix (v2.1.2)

Fixed a command injection vulnerability in bash command processing where malformed input could execute arbitrary commands. All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to the latest version. A memory leak with tree-sitter parse trees in long sessions was also fixed.

Tips of the Week

Quick Model Switching

Press Option+P (macOS) or Alt+P (Windows/Linux) while typing a prompt to instantly switch between Haiku/Sonnet/Opus models.

Disable Background Tasks

If you don’t need background task functionality, set CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS=1 to disable it entirely.

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