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Claude Code: Remote MCP Tool Calls Now Time Out Instead of Hanging

Claude Code

Claude Code v2.1.187 makes remote MCP tool calls fail fast: instead of hanging indefinitely, an idle remote MCP call now aborts with a clear error after five minutes, with a CLAUDE_CODE_MCP_TOOL_IDLE_TIMEOUT variable to tune the threshold.

Sources & Mentions

3 external resources covering this update

GitHub — anthropics/claude-code CHANGELOG.md

GitHub

GitHub — Releases · anthropics/claude-code

GitHub

GitHub Issue — MCP Server Timeout Configuration Ignored #20335

GitHub

Claude Code: Remote MCP Tool Calls Now Time Out Instead of Hanging

Claude Code v2.1.187 fixes a long-standing reliability gap with remote MCP servers.

What's new

  • Fail fast on stuck calls. Remote MCP tool calls that previously hung indefinitely now abort with an explicit error after five minutes of silence.
  • Tunable timeout. The CLAUDE_CODE_MCP_TOOL_IDLE_TIMEOUT environment variable lets teams adjust the threshold for legitimate long-running tool calls without giving up protection against truly stuck ones.

Why it matters

Agentic workflows that depend on external MCP servers are far easier to debug when a stalled call surfaces a clear error rather than silently blocking the session.

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