[BUG] Ignores disabling auto updates

[oschrenk]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude ignores disabling auto-updates.

❯ grep -A 6 env ~/.config/claude/settings.json
  "env": {
    "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": 1,
    "DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND": 1,
    "DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING": 1,
    "DISABLE_TELEMETRY": 1
  },
  "autoUpdates": false,

Searched for similiar issues but came up on any actual solutions that work

#10764 -> recommends "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": 1 -> doesn't work as seen above

#5969 -> recommends "claude config set -g autoUpdates false" doesn't work

#5753 -> mentions "claude config set -g autoUpdates disabled" doesnt work

#3479 -> mentions claude config set -g autoUpdates false , claude config get -g autoUpdates, claude config get autoUpdates and again DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER none work.

Docs at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings mention DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": 1 -> doesn't work

What Should Happen?

• Don't auto-update

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

❯ npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

❯ greadlink -f (which claude)
/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js

Disable auto updates via settings file

❯ grep -A 6 env ~/.config/claude/settings.json
  "env": {
    "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": 1,
    "DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND": 1,
    "DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING": 1,
    "DISABLE_TELEMETRY": 1
  },
  "autoUpdates": false,

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.0.36

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

No response

[oschrenk]

Even claude doctor says it's allowed to update

❯ claude doctor
 Diagnostics
 └ Currently running: npm-global (2.0.36)
 └ Path: /opt/homebrew/Cellar/node@20/20.19.5/bin/node
 └ Invoked: /opt/homebrew/bin/claude
 └ Config install method: global
 └ Auto-updates: default (true)
 └ Update permissions: Yes
 └ Search: OK (vendor)

❯ jq . ~/.config/claude/settings.json
{
  "includePatterns": [
    "**/*"
  ],
  "excludePatterns": [
    "node_modules/**",
    "dist/**",
    "out-tsc/**"
  ],
  "env": {
    "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": 1,
    "DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND": 1,
    "DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING": 1,
    "DISABLE_TELEMETRY": 1
  },
  "autoUpdates": false,
  "theme": "dark",
  "includeCoAuthoredBy": false,
  "verbose": false
}

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [Bug] Auto-upgrade bypasses disabled settings in configuration hierarchy #10764
2. Claude keeps updating to 1.0.83 even with auto-update turned off #5969
3. [BUG] Self-Update Uninstalls Claude Code / Ignores Disabled Updates #9327

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[oschrenk]

#10764
#5969
#9327

All recommend to use DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER. Which as outlined in the description and follow up with claude doctor does NOT work.

It only seems to work when the shell provides DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER but NOT when it's set as part of claude's settings.json. This is at minimum a documentation issue.

[ant-kurt]

Look like you're using a custom path for your user-level settings (~/.config/claude/settings.json), instead of the default (~/.claude/settings.json). For this file to be picked up, you'll need to either pass CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or use the default location.

You can also confirm whether these settings are picked up by checking /status, which enumerates the "Setting sources".

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.