claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [DOCS] Update docs missing `DISABLE_UPDATES` env var behavior [1 participants]

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup

Section/Topic

Auto-updates, Disable auto-updates, and Update manually

Current Documentation

The docs currently say:

Set DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER to "1" in the env key of your settings.json file:

{
  "env": {
    "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": "1"
  }
}

Update manually

To apply an update immediately without waiting for the next background check, run:

claude update

Related pages also still document the older behavior:

DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER | Set to 1 to disable automatic updates

and:

To disable all automatic updates entirely for both Claude Code and all plugins, set the DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER environment variable.

What's Wrong or Missing?

Changelog v2.1.118 says: Added DISABLE_UPDATES env var to completely block all update paths including manual claude update — stricter than DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER.

The current docs still describe DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER as the relevant control and still tell users to run claude update manually. That leaves three gaps:

A. Missing new env var

DISABLE_UPDATES is not documented in the environment variable reference or setup guide.

B. Old behavior is still presented as current

The setup and plugin docs imply DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER is the strongest update-disabling control, but v2.1.118 adds a stricter variable.

C. Manual update path is undocumented under the new rule

The docs still present claude update as available even when administrators may now block all update paths with DISABLE_UPDATES.

Suggested Improvement

Update the update-management docs to distinguish the two variables clearly:

1. Add DISABLE_UPDATES to https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars.
2. Update https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup to explain:

• DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1 disables background/automatic updates
• DISABLE_UPDATES=1 disables all update paths, including manual claude update

1. Update https://code.claude.com/docs/en/discover-plugins so it no longer describes DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER as the setting that disables updates entirely.
2. Add a note to https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cli-reference that claude update is blocked when DISABLE_UPDATES=1 is set.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

Total scope: 4 pages affected

Source: Changelog v2.1.118

Exact changelog entry: Added DISABLE_UPDATES env var to completely block all update paths including manual claude update — stricter than DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER