Whenever a new model drops, the most exciting question for me is always: when can I use it in Claude Code? With Fable 5, the answer came fast. Version 2.1.170 brings the model straight into the CLI — and just before that, 2.1.169 shipped a few small improvements I’d have wired in immediately if they’d existed sooner.
2.1.170: Fable 5 in the CLI
The highlight is obvious: update to 2.1.170 and Claude Fable 5 is available in Claude Code. There’s also a bug fix for something that’s bitten me personally — sessions weren’t being recorded when you launched Claude Code from the VS Code integrated terminal. That’s fixed now.
2.1.169: safe mode and /cd
The version before it is actually the more interesting one for everyday work. Two additions:
The new safe mode starts Claude Code with all customizations disabled — CLAUDE.md, plugins, skills, hooks, MCP servers. You turn it on with the --safe-mode flag or the CLAUDE_CODE_SAFE_MODE environment variable. Sounds unspectacular, but it’s gold when something’s broken and you can’t tell whether it’s your setup or Claude Code itself. Boot clean once, isolate the issue, done.
The second one is /cd: it moves a running session to a new working directory without blowing away the prompt cache mid-session. If you hop between projects a lot, that saves you the restart — and the wait until the cache is warm again.
My take
This is exactly the kind of update I like about Claude Code. No big feature fireworks, just two tools that remove a concrete bit of friction. Safe mode will be my first move next time a plugin acts up. And the fact that Fable 5 was available in the CLI on launch day shows how tightly model and tooling now move together.
Sources: Claude Code Releases (GitHub), DevelopersIO