Anthropic launches mods for Claude Code: TypeScript plugins that change its behavior, interface and tool calls
On Oct 1, 2026 Anthropic opened Claude Code to "mods": JavaScript/TypeScript event handlers shipped inside plugins that run in Claude Code's own process and can watch, rewrite or take over tool calls, prompts, commands and parts of the interface (panes, the spinner, dialogs). Users can write one or ask Claude to build it. Mods are not sandboxed and run with the user's permissions; the launch post drew ~2.1M views.
Key facts
- Announced by @ClaudeDevs on Oct 1, 2026: 'You can now mod Claude Code: change how it behaves, customize the UI, swap in your own features' (~2.1M views, ~14.8k likes by Oct 2)
- A mod is a plugin whose hooks module registers handlers for events such as tool.call and ui.render; a handler can observe, rewrite or answer an event
- Can draw panes and a band above the prompt, restyle built-in UI (tool-call rows, spinner, question dialog), hold or answer a tool call, send a request to a different model, add /commands that run without a Claude turn
- Installed like any plugin (/plugin install name@marketplace); requires Claude Code v2.1.287+; on by default; works in the CLI and the Desktop app's Code tab (hooks also run in claude -p, the Agent SDK and the VS Code panel, without drawing)
- Security: mods run with the user's permissions, are not sandboxed (a process a mod starts runs outside Bash sandboxing), can read secrets and can approve tool calls an 'ask' rule would prompt for; they cannot restyle the permission prompt
- Some built-in features are now mods, e.g. /diff, AGENTS.md loading and telemetry; samples token-weather, blast-radius and replay-theater are in anthropics/claude-code-playground
- Admins can restrict mods via managed settings (e.g. allowManagedModsOnly); users can disable them with --safe-mode or disableAllHooks
What happened
Claude Code already had settings hooks (shell commands run on events), skills and MCP servers, all working from outside the app. Mods run
inside it, so a few lines of TypeScript can add a pane that charts context usage, stop a risky rm -rf behind a confirmation, or send a
request to another model. Anthropic moved some of its own features onto the same system.
Why it matters
Coding agents are becoming platforms that users can reprogram. Mods can approve tool calls and read secrets, which widens the supply-chain risk of plugin marketplaces. The docs say plainly that a mod is code running with your permissions.
Changelog
- 2026-10-02: created
Related posts (1)
- Anthropic: You can now mod Claude Code original ↗ Claude Devs @ClaudeDevs · x · 2026-10-01
Official launch post for Claude Code mods (~2.1M views by Oct 2).
Related events
- Claude Code silently ignored AGENTS.md when telemetry was off; fixed in v2.1.281 ★★
- universal-modder: open-source Claude Code plugin that mods almost any PC game, from a fal engineer ★★
Sources (4)
- official@ClaudeDevs on X: You can now mod Claude Code
- docsClaude Code Docs: Mods overview
- codeGitHub: anthropics/claude-code-playground sample mods
- codeGitHub: anthropics/claude-code built-in mods source
id: 2026-10-01-claude-code-mods · updated 2026-10-02 · open in the interactive timeline