Claude Code v2.1.80 Released - Rate Limit Display and Plugin System Expansion

Anthropic released Claude Code v2.1.80 on March 19, 2026. This version introduces numerous developer-focused features including rate limit display, expanded plugin system capabilities, and effort frontmatter support.

Key New Features

Rate Limit Display in Statusline

Added rate_limits field to statusline scripts for displaying Claude.ai rate limit usage. Shows 5-hour and 7-day windows with used_percentage and resets_at.

Plugin Declaration in settings.json

Added source: 'settings' plugin marketplace source, allowing plugin entries to be declared inline in settings.json.

CLI Tool Usage Detection

Added CLI tool usage detection to plugin tips, in addition to existing file pattern matching.

Effort Frontmatter Support

Added effort frontmatter support for skills and slash commands to override the model effort level when invoked.

—channels Flag (Research Preview)

Added --channels flag to allow MCP servers to push messages into your session.

Security and Stability Fixes

—resume Parallel Tool Results Fix

Sessions with parallel tool calls now restore all tool_use/tool_result pairs instead of showing [Tool result missing] placeholders.

Voice Mode WebSocket Fix

Fixed voice mode WebSocket failures caused by Cloudflare bot detection on non-browser TLS fingerprints.

Fine-Grained Tool Streaming Fix

Fixed 400 errors when using fine-grained tool streaming through API proxies, Bedrock, or Vertex.

/remote-control Display Condition Fix

Fixed /remote-control appearing for gateway and third-party provider deployments where it cannot function.

Memory Usage Reduction

Reduced memory usage on startup in large repositories (~80 MB saved on 250k-file repos).

Managed Settings Fix

Fixed managed settings (enabledPlugins, permissions.defaultMode, policy-set env vars) not being applied at startup when remote-settings.json was cached from a prior session.

Other Improvements

• Improved responsiveness of @ file autocomplete in large git repositories
• Improved /effort to show what auto currently resolves to, matching the status bar indicator
• Improved /permissions — Tab and arrow keys now switch tabs from within a list
• Improved background tasks panel — left arrow now closes from the list view
• Simplified plugin install tips to use a single /plugin install command instead of a two-step flow