Claude Code 2.1.116: Session Resume Up to 67% Faster and MCP Startup Speed Improvements
Claude CodeClaude Code version 2.1.116 delivers meaningful performance improvements for developers working with large or long-running sessions. The /resume command is now up to 67% faster on sessions of 40MB or more, and MCP startup time is reduced when multiple stdio servers are configured by deferring non-essential capability negotiation until first use. Additional improvements include a gh rate limit hint in the Bash tool, agent hooks: frontmatter firing when running as a --agent main-thread process, and the ability to open /doctor while Claude is still responding.
Sources & Mentions
3 external resources covering this update
Faster Session Resume for Large Projects
One of the most impactful changes in Claude Code 2.1.116 is a substantial speed improvement to the /resume command. Sessions of 40MB or more now load up to 67% faster, and the resume process handles transcripts with many dead-fork entries (abandoned branch conversations) more efficiently. For developers working on large codebases or extended multi-session projects, this removes a friction point that could add noticeable delay when picking back up from where a previous session left off.
MCP Startup Performance
When multiple stdio MCP servers are configured, Claude Code previously performed full capability negotiation — including resources/templates/list — at startup. In 2.1.116, that negotiation step is deferred until the first @-mention that actually requires it. The practical effect is a faster launch time in projects with many MCP integrations, without any loss of functionality.
Developer Tooling Quality-of-Life
Several targeted improvements round out the release for everyday workflows:
GitHub CLI rate limit awareness. The Bash tool now surfaces a hint when gh commands hit GitHub's API rate limit, providing agents with the signal to back off and retry rather than continuing to hammer the API.
Agent hooks now fire for main-thread agents. When a session is launched via --agent, frontmatter hooks: declarations in agent files now fire correctly — previously they only fired for subagents spawned from a parent session.
/doctor mid-response. The /doctor diagnostics panel can now be opened while Claude is actively responding, without waiting for the current turn to complete. This is useful for debugging connectivity or MCP issues during long-running operations.
/config value search. The /config search now matches against option values, not just option names. Searching for "vim", for example, now surfaces the Editor mode setting even if the word "vim" appears only in the value.
Usage tab reliability. The Usage tab in Settings now displays 5-hour and weekly usage immediately and no longer fails silently when the usage endpoint is rate-limited.
Slash command menu. When a slash command filter matches nothing, the menu now shows "No commands match" instead of disappearing entirely — a small but meaningful improvement to discoverability.