💡 Claude Code Ships Native Screen Reader Support via --ax-screen-reader

Claude Code now has native screen reader support, enabled with the --ax-screen-reader flag, the CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER=1 environment variable, or an axScreenReader setting in settings.json. This pairs with the screen-reader-mode improvements shipped mid-July (audible feedback for deletions) into a more complete accessibility story for the CLI — a meaningful gap to close given how much of Claude Code's interface relies on visual affordances like colour-coded state and inline diffs.

# Enable via flag
claude --ax-screen-reader

# Or via environment variable
export CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER=1

# Or in settings.json
{
  "axScreenReader": true
}

💡 Vim Remaps, Mouse-Click Multi-Select, and Two Long-Standing Bugs Fixed

A batch of smaller quality-of-life improvements landed alongside screen reader support: a new vimInsertModeRemaps setting lets vim-mode users map two-key insert-mode sequences (like jj) to Escape — a long-requested convenience for anyone who lives in vim bindings. Fullscreen mode gained mouse-click support for multi-select menus and "Other" input rows, reducing reliance on keyboard-only navigation in those views.

Two bugs worth knowing were fixed

• Fast mode staying off after switching models: previously, if you switched away from and back to a model that supports Fast mode, it would stay disabled rather than restoring automatically — now it re-enables correctly when configured in settings.
• Lost replies to background agents: if a reply typed to a background agent failed to deliver, the text was previously lost entirely. It's now saved and delivered once the session restarts — a small fix, but a frustrating class of bug to hit (typing a reply that silently vanishes) if you'd experienced it before.