[DOCS] Background-agent daemon handover rule now uses the version's embedded build timestamp, but `agent-view.md` and `cli-reference.md` still describe the old version comparison

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-view

Section/Topic

The "Inspect the supervisor" subsection of agent-view.md (around the claude daemon status description) and the matching row in https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cli-reference.

Current Documentation

agent-view.md:540-546 currently describes the version comparison as "the running supervisor is on a different version than the claude you invoked":

To inspect this state without reading the files directly, run claude daemon status. It reports whether the supervisor is reachable, its process ID and version, the socket directory, and how many background sessions are live. /doctor includes a summary of the same check. The command also warns when the running supervisor is on a different version than the claude you invoked, which happens after an update the supervisor hasn't restarted into yet. The warning shows both versions and tells you to run claude daemon stop --any to pick up the new version. When Claude Code is installed as an OS service, the suggested command is claude daemon stop without the flag.

cli-reference.md:31 documents claude daemon status as:

Print the background-session supervisor's state, version, socket directory, and worker count for diagnostics. Exits 1 if the supervisor isn't running.

agent-view.md:534 lists the supervisor state files:

| ~/.claude/daemon/roster.json | List of running background sessions, used to reconnect after a restart |

Neither page mentions build timestamps or how recency is determined for the handover decision.

What's Wrong or Missing?

A. The handover recency rule has changed

The v2.1.200 changelog says:

Fixed background-agent daemon handover so a reinstalled older build can no longer take over the daemon; build recency is now judged by the version's embedded build timestamp

After v2.1.200, the supervisor handover compares versions using the build timestamp embedded in the binary rather than the version string or install date. Before v2.1.200, a user who downgraded (or who had a newer binary removed by an installer) could end up with an older binary taking over the running supervisor. The "running supervisor is on a different version" prose in agent-view.md does not mention build timestamps or this protection, so the doc reads as if the only relevant check is "are these the same version string".

B. claude daemon status output description is incomplete

The row in cli-reference.md says claude daemon status prints "version" but does not say it now distinguishes build-timestamp recency from version-string equality. The prose in agent-view.md explains that a mismatch produces a warning, but does not say which side wins the handover decision or how recency is computed.

C. The recovery guidance needs an embedded-build-timestamp caveat

The current "run claude daemon stop --any to pick up the new version" advice assumes the user wants to move to whichever binary was last installed. After v2.1.200, that binary may not be the one with the newer build timestamp; if the user reinstalled an older build, the supervisor will refuse the handover even when the binary on disk is the one they intended to run. The page does not say what to do in that case.

Suggested Improvement

Update the "Inspect the supervisor" prose in agent-view.md to describe the new rule, for example:

claude daemon status reports whether the supervisor is reachable, its process ID and version, the socket directory, and how many background sessions are live. It also reports the embedded build timestamp for both the running supervisor and the active claude binary. Since v2.1.200, build recency is decided by that timestamp rather than by the version string: an older build that was reinstalled on top of a newer one cannot take over the running supervisor, even if it claims a lower version number. /doctor includes a summary of the same check. When the running supervisor's embedded build timestamp is older than the active binary's, the warning shows both versions and tells you to run claude daemon stop --any to pick up the new version. When Claude Code is installed as an OS service, the suggested command is claude daemon stop without the flag.

Mirror the same wording in cli-reference.md's claude daemon status row, and add a note explaining that the handover preference is the binary with the newer embedded build timestamp.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:
| Page | Line(s) | Context |
|------|---------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-view | 540-546 | "Inspect the supervisor" prose |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cli-reference | 31 | claude daemon status row |

Total scope: 2 pages, both describing the same handover rule.

The release note for this change appears in v2.1.200 (July 3, 2026). A pre-existing issue tracks the related but distinct gap that claude daemon status did not explain version skew at all before v2.1.176; the gap here is the post-v2.1.200 build-timestamp rule.