Unable to Web Fetch Claude Code Documentation URL

Status Fixed / completed
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 6 comments · opened Mar 28, 2025 · closed Aug 28, 2025

Bug Description
Claude code can't web fetch it's own docs: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview#development-container-reference-implementation

Environment Info

  • Platform: macos
  • Terminal: ghostty
  • Version: 0.2.56
  • Feedback ID: 6de3ea02-361b-4885-80b3-cdb4816a3f5e

Errors

[{"error":"ShellError: Shell command failed\n    at Object.call (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1855:792)\n    at runNextTicks (node:internal/process/task_queues:60:5)\n    at process.processTimers (node:internal/timers:511:9)\n    at async ub5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:5687)\n    at async X31 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:4261)\n    at async mb5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3531)\n    at async GL1 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3465)\n    at async ox (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:2912)\n    at async U3 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3620:11634)","timestamp":"2025-03-28T18:41:44.876Z"},{"error":"Error: Failed to fetch URL: 403 Request failed with status code 403\n    at Rc2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:2288)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:5989)\n    at async ub5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:5687)\n    at async X31 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:4261)\n    at async bU2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1151:511)\n    at async jb5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3608)\n    at async GL1 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3439)\n    at async ox (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:2912)\n    at async U3 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3620:11634)","timestamp":"2025-03-28T18:43:41.815Z"},{"error":"Error: Failed to fetch URL: 403 Request failed with status code 403\n    at Rc2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:2288)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:5989)\n    at async ub5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:5687)\n    at async X31 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:4261)\n    at async bU2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1151:511)\n    at async jb5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3608)\n    at async GL1 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3439)\n    at async ox (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:2912)\n    at async U3 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3620:11634)","timestamp":"2025-03-28T18:44:49.481Z"},{"error":"Error: Failed to fetch URL: 403 Request failed with status code 403\n    at Rc2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:2288)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3381:5989)\n    at async ub5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:5687)\n    at async X31 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:4261)\n    at async bU2 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1151:511)\n    at async jb5 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3608)\n    at async GL1 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:3439)\n    at async ox (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3278:2912)\n    at async U3 (file:///Users/omar/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:3620:11634)","timestamp":"2025-03-28T18:47:03.336Z"}]

⏺ I apologize, but I'm still unable to access the URL directly. It seems there are access restrictions preventing me from fetching content from the Anthropic documentation site.

If you're interested in how Claude Code uses ripgrep or SSH functionality, I can tell you based on my existing knowledge:

  1. Claude Code uses ripgrep (rg) internally for search functionality (like GrepTool)
  2. Claude Code is a CLI tool that connects to Anthropic's API - you don't SSH into Claude itself

If you need specific information from the documentation, you might need to share those details directly, as the automated web fetching tools appear to be unable to access that particular domain due to security configurations.

no web fetch thi url, ask your handoff agent, https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview

⏺ I'll try again with a different approach.

⏺ Web Fetch(url: "https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview", prompt: "What does this page say about Claude Code's features, particularly regarding ripgrep (rg) usage and any remote/SSH capabilities?")…
⎿  Success

⏺ I apologize, but I keep getting a 403 Forbidden error when trying to access the documentation. This typically means the server is explicitly refusing to serve the content to automated systems like the WebFetchTool.

Since I can't directly fetch the documentation, I can only provide information based on my existing knowledge:

  1. Claude Code uses ripgrep internally for efficient code searching
  2. It's a CLI tool you install locally - there's no SSH "into Claude" since Claude runs on Anthropic's infrastructure
  3. You can use Claude Code on remote machines by installing it directly on those machines

If you need specific information from the documentation, you may need to extract and share those sections manually.

web fetch - https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview#development-container-reference-implementation

⏺ I'll try the specific section you mentioned.

⏺ Web Fetch(url: "https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview#development-container-reference-implementation", prompt: "Summarize what this page says about development containers and remote/SSH usage with Claude Code, …
particularly focusing on any ripgrep integration.")
⎿  Success

⏺ I apologize, but I'm still getting a 403 Forbidden error when trying to access the Anthropic documentation. The server is explicitly blocking automated access attempts.

Based on the URL fragment "#development-container-reference-implementation", it seems you're interested in how to use Claude Code with development containers, which would be relevant for remote development scenarios.

While I can't access the specific documentation, I can share that:

  1. Claude Code likely supports usage in development containers (Docker, etc.)
  2. This would enable remote development workflows
  3. The ripgrep functionality would be available in these containers as it's built into Claude Code's functionality

If you need the specific details from the documentation, you may need to manually share that information from the page.

View original on GitHub ↗

6 Comments

hesreallyhim · 1 year ago

Here's your answer 🤦

https://docs.anthropic.com/en/release-notes/system-prompts#feb-24th-2025

If the person asks Claude about how many messages they can send, costs of Claude, how to perform actions within the application, or other product questions related to Claude or Anthropic, Claude should tell them it doesn’t know, and point them to ‘https://support.anthropic.com’.
If the person asks Claude about the Anthropic API, Claude should point them to ‘https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/’.
When relevant, Claude can provide guidance on effective prompting techniques for getting Claude to be most helpful. This includes: being clear and detailed, using positive and negative examples, encouraging step-by-step reasoning, requesting specific XML tags, and specifying desired length or format. It tries to give concrete examples where possible. Claude should let the person know that for more comprehensive information on prompting Claude, they can check out Anthropic’s prompting documentation on their website at ‘https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/overview’.
hesreallyhim · 1 year ago

would love to hear some justification for these instructions though!

jjphonsot · 1 year ago

might be faster using an mcp like fetcher...

szymdzum · 1 year ago

Have you made progress here? Doc-heavy MCPs burn through tokens fast.

Instead of bulk documentation imports, what about building solution-specific context via API calls? Scrape only what's needed for the current problem, validate it works, then commit verified solutions to a local knowledge base.

Basically: targeted extraction > documentation firehose.

Just an assumption of course.

hesreallyhim · 1 year ago

I'm not sure what the issue is by now, my original comments can be closed I think - as far as I can tell, @omararambula and I were talking about a problem related to Claude being instructed not to search the claude code docs. AFAICT, this prohibition has been loosened.

github-actions[bot] · 1 year ago

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.