Thread

Claude Code reads AGENTS.md only when telemetry is on [fixed]

486 points · 284 comments · pszypowicz

mpoteat · 1790168190 · focus · HN ↗
Sorry folks, this is a rollout artifact, we needed a way to turn this off remotely via feature flags if it broke something, and with telemetry off you don't get those. It's already been fixed as part of v2.1.281 releasing today.
The mod is source available here: <a href="https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/tree/main/mods/agents-md" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/tree/main/mods/age...
Apologies again folks, this was a fully human error on my part - I should've found a better way to launch with a kill-switch.
1. mort96 · 1790170591 · focus · HN ↗
  "Rollout artifact"? This is Claude-speak isn't it? I have never ever heard anyone call a bug like this a "rollout artifact" before.
  1. ako · 1790170771 · focus · HN ↗
    I was probably an agent that made the change, and the same agent that commented here on HN.
  2. criley2 · 1790172356 · focus · HN ↗
    I don't think "bug" is the correct term. They put a feature behind a feature flag, and feature flags don't work if you turn them off (via telemetry). That's "Working As Designed™".
    mort96 · 1790173054 · focus · HN ↗
    It's clearly an unintended interaction. Nobody intended for the telemetry switch to control whether it reads AGENTS.md (hence mpoteat's apologetic response). Whether you consider that to be a "bug" or not really wasn't the point of my message.
    _vertigo · 1790174540 · focus · HN ↗
    Clearly not Claude-speak, see the rest of the message. "Rollout artifact" just means "an artifact of how we rolled this change out" which maybe isn't proper English but the message was obviously not written by Claude. Upgrade your Claudish detection
    quintu5 · 1790186453 · focus · HN ↗
    It’s a long-standing issue that disabling telemetry disabled feature-flagged features (e.g., remote control).
    chrisjj · 1790178776 · focus · HN ↗
    > That's "Working As Designed™".
    You must be baffled by the fact they're fixing it.
    criley2 · 1790208028 · focus · HN ↗
    They're not fixing it, they're "changing" it, which makes sense, because the design changed.
    chrisjj · 1790238447 · focus · HN ↗
    > They're not fixing it
    "It's already been fixed as part of v2.1.281 releasing today."
    criley2 · 1790250237 · focus · HN ↗
    Developer comms are very important. I've often "fixed" something that was working exactly as the designer made it. It certainly wasn't a bug in my work though. I've worked in places where we call this a "design omission" ;)
    chrisjj · 1790257060 · focus · HN ↗
    No omission seen in this case, though.
    [deleted] · 1790337769 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    mort96 · 1790260592 · focus · HN ↗
    Design bugs are still bugs
  3. bbor · 1790176001 · focus · HN ↗
    Feels pretty normal to me, IDK. "Rollout" is definitely what was happening here, and this leftover problem can be described as an "artifact" most generally - I guess otherwise it'd be a... just "problem" or "mistake"? Cause "bug" doesn't really fit. Plus, the Claudism here would definitely involve "soak", and possibly even "wall-time" lol
    IMHO it's worth keeping in mind that Anthropic employees are some of the least likely to casually pass off artificial prose as authentic, given the company's ethos/brand/cover story (depending on how cynical you are). To them this is all getting pretty high stakes pretty damn quickly; based on my usage of full strength Opus 5.5 today, I can't even imagine what working with their full internal stack must feel like. If they were willing to let the machines speak for them, they'd all be melancholically lounging around home by now instead of coming in to work!
    ...I am refusing to consider the fact that they probably are still WFH because of Salesforce forcing their shared security contractor to strike. Call that a mental health ignorance on my part :)

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