Anthropic now lets Claude users jump out of plane without parachute

Anthropic's Claude Code v2.1.311 adds an environment variable, CLAUDE_CODE_EVEN_MORE_DANGEROUSLY_SKIP_PERMISSIONS, that lets developers disable the remaining permission prompts blocking the AI agent from running commands such as rm and rmdir. Anthropic technical staff member Daisy Hollman announced the change in a social media post, writing "Fun fact: --dangerously-skip-permissions doesn't actually approve EVERYTHING – we still block some obvious things like rm -rf ~" and confirming "Not a joke!" after skepticism that the change, which is not listed in the v2.1.311 changelog, was real. The variable extends the existing --dangerously-skip-permissions flag, which enabled bypassPermissions mode in Claude Code v1.0.18 on June 9, 2025, and removes the last agentic restraint on file-deleting commands despite documented cases of AI agents wiping hard drives.

Anthropic now lets Claude users jump out of plane without parachute The Register https://www.theregister.com Meet CLAUDE CODE EVEN MORE DANGEROUSLY SKIP PERMISSIONS Anthropic https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/anthropic , prone to pronouncements about model safety, has given developers using Claude https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/claude Code the opportunity to throw its guardrails https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/guardrails out the window. The company's latest Claude Code build v2.1.311 https://code.claude.com/docs/en/changelog 2-1-311 supports an environmental variable designed to allow the AI agent https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/ai-agent to run the rm command, which deletes files, without asking for approval. The designated environmental variable a value developers set in their shell is called: CLAUDE CODE EVEN MORE DANGEROUSLY SKIP PERMISSIONS. Daisy Hollman, a member of technical staff at Anthropic, announced the change in a social media post https://x.com/The Whole Daisy/status/2114796466850202103?s=20 . "Fun fact: --dangerously-skip-permissions doesn't actually approve EVERYTHING – we still block some obvious things like rm -rf ~," she wrote. "But today's release will let you disable this if you really want, by setting a new env var CLAUDE CODE EVEN MORE DANGEROUSLY SKIP PERMISSIONS=1" Not everyone believed Hollman, perhaps due to the absurdity of the variable name or because the change isn't listed in the v2.1.311 change log. But she offered reassurance that it's real. "Not a joke " she responded. "I hope this helps, and I hope the variable name is memorable." The name is easy to remember because it is very much like the aforementioned Claude Code flag --dangerously-skip-permissions. That command line flag https://github.com/thevibeworks/claude-code-docs/blob/main/content/en/docs/claude-code/cli-reference.md enables bypassPermissions mode, which first surfaced in Claude Code v1.0.18, on June 9, 2025. Claude Code has several permission modes https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes : default, acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk, and bypassPermissions. Auto mode, which nominally allows everything but runs background safety checks, became the default in August https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/08/10/claude-code-puts-auto-mode-in-the-drivers-seat/5285326 ; bypassPermissions also nominally allows everything, without the safety checks. But there are still exceptions https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes actions-no-mode-auto-approves that do not get automatically approved and require a permission prompt, such as rm and rmdir. The new CLAUDE CODE EVEN MORE DANGEROUSLY SKIP PERMISSIONS environmental variable removes this last agentic restraint, though other things like managed settings may impose their own limitations. It's perhaps worth noting that there are numerous https://ihavebeenclawed.com/ accounts https://agents.fail/ of AI agents issuing commands like rm -rf ~ that wipe hard drives https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1vg18yu/claude rm rf ed my pc/ or take other action that results in data loss. But as they say, you only live once. ® Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI. Key Terms Explained AI Agent https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/ai-agent An autonomous AI system that can perceive its environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve goals. Anthropic https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/anthropic An AI safety company founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, including Dario and Daniela Amodei. Claude https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/claude Anthropic's family of AI assistants, including Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. Guardrails https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/guardrails Safety measures built into AI systems to prevent harmful, inappropriate, or off-topic outputs.