### Preflight Checklist - [x] I have searched [existing issues](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3Abug) 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? Forked subagents are forcibly stopped after an arbitrary 200-turn limit, requiring the parent to resume them: > stopped at its 200-turn limit (partial re

[BUG] Remove the arbitrary 200-turn limit on forked subagents

Status Open

Reported on v2.1.281

Maintainer reply None cached

Activity 0 comments · opened Sep 24, 2026

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?

Forked subagents are forcibly stopped after an arbitrary 200-turn limit, requiring the parent to resume them:

stopped at its 200-turn limit (partial result; SendMessage to task-id to continue)

Binary inspection confirms a hard-coded maxTurns: 200 on the built-in fork agent.

What Should Happen?

Forked subagents should be able to run indefinitely, just like other subagents. This arbitrary and hardcoded limit should be fully removed.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Tell Claude to spawn a forked subagent to complete a big task. The forked subagent will often hit an arbitrary 200-turn limit, causing the parent to having to repeatedly resume it.

If you tell it to spawn any other subagent, like general-purpose, it will finish the task since other subagents do not have this arbitrary cap.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.281

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information