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Anthropic now lets Claude users jump out of plane without parachute

AIOctober 28, 20262 min read

Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, has added a hidden setting to Claude Code, its coding tool. The setting lets the AI run file-deleting commands without asking a person first.

What happened

Anthropic released a new version of Claude Code, v2.1.311. It includes an environment variable (a setting that developers type into their computer's shell, the text window where commands are run). The variable is called CLAUDE_CODE_EVEN_MORE_DANGEROUSLY_SKIP_PERMISSIONS. When it is turned on, the AI agent can run the rm command, which deletes files, without asking for approval. Daisy Hollman, a member of Anthropic's technical staff, announced the change on social media and said it was real.

Key facts

The new version is Claude Code v2.1.311.
The setting is turned on by setting CLAUDE_CODE_EVEN_MORE_DANGEROUSLY_SKIP_PERMISSIONS=1.
The older flag --dangerously-skip-permissions first appeared in Claude Code v1.0.18, on June 9, 2025.
Claude Code has six permission modes: default, acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk, and bypassPermissions.
Auto mode became the default in August.

Some background

Claude Code asks for permission before it does certain risky actions. Some actions, like rm and rmdir, always need a yes from a person. Earlier, a flag called --dangerously-skip-permissions let users skip most of these checks. Even with that flag, some obvious dangers were still blocked, such as rm -rf ~, which can wipe a whole home folder. The new variable removes this last safety step. Other settings, such as managed settings set by an organization, may still limit what the AI can do.

Why it matters

Deleting files by accident can cause real data loss. The article notes that there are many reports of AI agents running commands that wiped hard drives. This new setting makes it easier for users to give an AI full control over their files. Users who turn it on should understand that the AI may delete things without warning.

What to watch

Whether Anthropic lists this setting in its official change log, since it was missing from the v2.1.311 notes.
Whether more users report data loss after turning on the setting.
Whether Anthropic adds warnings or new safety limits to the setting.

Glossary

Anthropic: An AI company that makes the Claude AI models and tools.
Claude Code: A tool from Anthropic that lets an AI agent write and run code on a computer.
AI agent: An AI program that can take actions on its own, such as running commands.
rm command: A command-line instruction that deletes files on a computer.

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