Code Mode: Claude now does things in one go

Claude Code has learned to do several things in one go. Instead of opening a file, waiting, opening another one and waiting again, it can now get through many steps together.

It's called Code Mode and it arrived with version 2.1.323. For now it is experimental, so it stays off until you turn it on.

What it does, in plain words

Normally Claude works like someone doing the shopping one item at a time: buy the milk, go home, head out again for the bread. With Code Mode it first writes a short list of instructions, in JavaScript, and gets several of them done in a single trip. It can do several things in parallel, use one result for the next step and keep only what it actually needs.

Source: Anthropic, code.claude.com

When it helps and when it doesn't

It helps with boring, repetitive work: the same change across many files, a search with too many results to trim down, several commands that can start together.

It does little, or can't be used, in other cases:

• when Claude has to use Chrome or the computer the way a person would: those features aren't available in Code Mode;
• on long jobs: if Claude waits for the code, it stops after ten minutes.

For anyone who wants to try it

You need Claude Code 2.1.323 or later, in the terminal. As of 15 November the stable channel is still on 2.1.311, so you need the latest channel. Then start it like this:

At Studio Futuro we keep an eye on features like this to see when they really help a team.

If you want to see what your team could automate, get in touch.

Sources

Anthropic: Code Mode documentation, Claude Code changelog, versions on npm. Works with Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.2.

In short: With Code Mode, Claude Code bundles lots of small steps into one go. It shines on repetitive work, it won't help when there is browsing or a long wait involved, and it is still experimental.