`--bg` feature gate disabled on Windows, enabled on macOS for same account + version
Status Fixed / completed
Reported on v2.1.139
Maintainer reply ✓ Yes — bogini
Activity 9 comments · opened May 12, 2026 · closed May 13, 2026
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (bogini, collaborator)
responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.
claude --bg works on macOS but fails on Windows with the same Anthropic account and same Claude Code version. Suggests platform-gated rollout or a Windows-specific flag-fetch bug.
Feedback ID: 412130e2-80b8-4453-8726-e2010c2e4973
Environment
- Claude Code: 2.1.139 (same on both machines)
- Account: same Anthropic account on both
- macOS: works
- Windows: 11 Home, PowerShell 7.6.1
Repro
claude --bgclaude agentsExpected: launches in background mode (as on macOS).
Actual (Windows only):
'--bg' is not enabled. If this is unexpected, retry in a moment.claude agents currently returns the old agents on windows:
<img width="547" height="878" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/91232a9a-d181-40e0-8d03-9033f76030ed" />
Retrying does not help. claude itself work fine, so the CLI is otherwise healthy.
/goals is working (another feature that was implemented in this version)
something specific to the agents feature for windows.
Rules out
- Account mismatch — same account on both
- Version mismatch — same version on both
- Transient flag fetch — retry doesn't resolve it
9 Comments
restarted the machine, same error. so it's not a stale local-state issue. either it's a server-side flag eval problem (windows account/install not in rollout) or a windows-specific cli bug. might try on linux next to narrow it down.
Found 2 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
tiebreaker -
claude agentsandclaude --bgworks on WSL on my pc (same account, same 2.1.139).macOS ✓
WSL ✓
native Windows ✗
looks like a Windows-cli specific bug, not server-side flag gating.
Mac Os Not Wokr
Thanks for reporting. This was a feature-flag delivery issue —
claude agentswas gated on a GrowthBook flag whose cache could be stale or unreachable depending on platform/network. We've removed the gate entirely;claude agentsnow opens the dashboard unconditionally (including on Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry).Ships in v2.1.141 (tomorrow).
no problem, thanks m8. i was coming in here to update with some findings hoping they're helpful, posted below.
looking forward to the update, will report if i still run into any complications on 2.1.141 but suspect not.
@bogini -
to test, i created a few aliases:
ccb(a bypass-permissions alias, telemetry off)ccbrc(bypass-permissions alias, telemetry enabled)ccrc(default-permissions, telemetry enabled)i invoked a session with
ccb.i then tested
ccbrcand attemptedccbrc --bgwhich succeeded and spawned and backgrounded an agent. butccbrcdid not respectagents,log, orrm. only--bgitself worked. didn't testattachorspawn.ccrc agentsproperly invokes the tui.during all testing, i left the
ccbinvoked session running. it does not show up in theccrc agentstui at all - even though that shell has default permissions and telemetry on.before discovering that
ccrc agentsworked, external kill seemed like the only option (Stop-Processon the node.exe pid or btop) - but didn't actually seem to kill it. luckilyccrc agentsdid work and i was able to ctrl+x x2, but noticed there were multiple bg agents spawned. unsure if that was from previous--bginvocations succeeding silently or what.aside question for you - is telemetry actually required for remote-control to work? figure it could be a deliberate privacy gate or an accidental coupling - couldn't find it documented either way.
This issue was fixed as of version 2.1.141.
This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.