[BUG] Startup banner ("What's new") disappears immediately — no time to read release notes

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

When Claude Code updates, the full startup banner with "What's new" cards appears for ~1 second and then collapses into the condensed logo. No time to read the release notes.

What Should Happen?

Expected: Banner stays until user interacts

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Update Claude Code to a new version (or manually set lastReleaseNotesSeen to an old version in ~/.claude.json)
2. Launch claude
3. Full banner appears briefly, then collapses into condensed logo

Expected: Banner stays until user interacts.
Actual: Banner disappears in ~0.5-10 seconds.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

1.xxxx

Claude Code Version

v2.1.92

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

iTerm2

Additional Information

Suspected cause:

useEffect in LogoV2.tsx calls saveGlobalConfig({ lastReleaseNotesSeen: VERSION }) immediately on mount. The config file watcher detects the change, triggers re-render, hasReleaseNotes becomes false, and the component switches to condensed mode.

Confirmed by:

• Setting CLAUDE_CODE_FORCE_FULL_LOGO=1 prevents the collapse (env var overrides the condensed check)
• Removing the saveGlobalConfig call from the useEffect in a patched cli.js fixes the issue — banner stays visible