Claude Code 2.1.323 adds experimental Code Mode for tool calls

Anthropic released version 2.1.323 of Claude Code on November 12, 2026, according to the Claude Code changelog. The update is headlined by Code Mode, an experimental, opt-in feature that lets Claude write JavaScript to call its own tools instead of making direct tool calls.

What changed in version 2.1.323

• Code Mode is an experimental, opt-in feature in which Claude writes JavaScript to call its tools rather than making direct tool calls; organization admins can disable it.
• Plugins now declare a supported version range through an engines["claude-code"] field in plugin.json, so plugins outside that range are not installed, updated or loaded.
• claude plugin validate adds type checking of a plugin's TypeScript hooks module, and the --strict flag now fails on findings.
• VS Code integration adds a trust prompt before the first session in an untrusted folder and live streaming of Bash and PowerShell output in chat.
• The release bundles roughly 195 bug fixes covering MCP OAuth token handling, Bash permission checks, file editing, session persistence and VS Code integration.

What it means for builders

Code Mode changes how Claude Code's agent executes multi-step tool calls, a shift that affects how developers build and debug agentic coding workflows on top of Claude. Because the feature is opt-in and can be switched off by organization admins, teams can test the new execution path without committing their whole workspace to it, while the added plugin version-gating and stricter validation give plugin authors more predictable compatibility checks before code reaches users.

Sources

• Claude Code changelog (Anthropic, November 12, 2026, official)

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