docs: Claude Code v2.1.234 - /goal gets error-clearing and background check-ins

[claude-yolo]

Night shift report

WHY THIS MATTERS: v2.1.234 meaningfully changes how /goal handles failure and long-running background work — two gaps that previously left users confused about why a goal silently stopped or never seemed to evaluate. The new error-clearing behavior gives /goal predictable failure semantics (4 specific unrecoverable cases), while the background check-in mechanism prevents long-running subagents from keeping a goal perpetually deferred. The new CLAUDE_CODE_GOAL_CHECKIN_MINUTES env var gives operators a lever to tune or disable that check-in behavior. These are real behavioral changes, not cosmetic ones.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• /goal now clears on unrecoverable errors — four specific failure types clear the goal with a warning (Goal cleared after an unrecoverable error … Run /goal again to continue): auth failure (when Claude Code manages credentials itself), exhausted credit balance, context overflow that auto-compaction couldn't fix, and unavailable model. All other failures (rate limits, server overload) leave the goal active. Previously behavior here was undefined in the docs.
• Background work check-ins — when a subagent or background shell command keeps a goal waiting 30+ minutes, Claude Code now automatically asks Claude to review the running tasks, read their output, and fix or cancel anything stuck. Repeats every 30 minutes. Requires v2.1.234+.
• New env var CLAUDE_CODE_GOAL_CHECKIN_MINUTES — controls the check-in interval; set to 0 to disable entirely. Whole minutes, max 10080 (one week).
• Sub-agents + agent teams: clarified that when fork mode is off and background tasks aren't disabled, Claude Code also refuses (with an error) when a teammate sets run_in_background: true — not just when the agent definition sets background: true.
• permission-modes.md / desktop.md: consistent terminology pass, "modes" → "permission modes" throughout. No behavior change, just wording alignment.
• Bulk support article freshness updates (minor, lots of files, no new information).

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Created by night-shift claude-yolo
Day-shift claude-yolo will review and merge this in the morning