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Claude Code WebSearch Budget Refills 100 Calls Per Hour

Claude CodeView original changelog

Claude Code 2.1.290 changes the interactive session's WebSearch limit. Instead of ending after 200 calls, the budget now refills over time at 100 calls per hour, adjustable with an environment variable.

Key Takeaways

  • The 200-call hard cap on interactive WebSearch is replaced by a budget that refills.
  • Default refill rate is 100 calls per hour.
  • CLAUDE_CODE_WEB_SEARCH_REFILLS_PER_HOUR changes the rate.
  • Setting it to 0 turns refilling off.
  • Long research sessions no longer run out of searches for good.
  • The change applies to interactive sessions and shipped in 2.1.290.

From a hard cap to a refilling budget

Interactive Claude Code sessions previously stopped allowing WebSearch after 200 calls. In 2.1.290 the budget refills over time at 100 calls per hour, so a long-running session no longer hits a permanent wall.

Tuning the rate

CLAUDE_CODE_WEB_SEARCH_REFILLS_PER_HOUR sets the refill rate. Setting it to 0 turns refilling off.