[BUG] URL fetching from public sources no longer works — regression breaks documentation workflow

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?

URL fetching from public sources stopped working approximately two weeks ago (last confirmed working around 2026-05-13). Claude Code can no longer read public URLs passed in conversation —
attempting to fetch a URL results in Claude stating it cannot access URLs directly.

This is a regression. The capability previously worked and was a core part of our documentation workflow — reading public GitHub PRs, commits, and public documentation pages without leaving
the conversation.

I access Claude as follows:

• Tool: Claude Code CLI v2.1.152
• Model: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (the model running inside Claude Code)
• Environment: WSL (Ubuntu on Windows 11)

What Should Happen?

Claude Code should be able to fetch and read content from public URLs passed in conversation — specifically public GitHub PRs, commits, and public documentation pages. This capability existed previously and was removed in a recent update. It should be restored.

This directly impacts our technical documentation workflow. We review public GitHub PRs to understand code changes and their documentation impact. Without URL fetching, we cannot read PR descriptions or commit details inline — we must copy/paste content manually, which is inefficient and breaks the flow of the work session. Today alone this added significant overhead to a routine documentation task (reviewing middleware PR for a UI change requiring doc updates).

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Code CLI (v2.1.152) in a WSL session
2. Paste a public GitHub URL into the conversation (e.g., a public PR or commit URL)
3. Ask Claude to read or summarize the content at that URL
4. Observe: Claude responds that it cannot access URLs directly where it could previously.

Expected: Claude fetches and reads the public URL content
Actual: Claude states it cannot fetch URLs

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

worked approximately two weeks ago.

Claude Code Version

v2.1.152 (Claude Code)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

Claude Code CLI (WSL/Ubuntu on Windows 11)

Note: This appears to be a regression introduced in a recent update. The WebFetch capability was previously available and functional. Restoring this capability would significantly improve Claude Code's usefulness for technical workflows that involve reviewing public web resources inline. A workaround exists for GitHub repos (local clone + commit hash lookup) but does not scale to arbitrary public URLs.