Claude Code v2.1.96 Release Notes

Claude Code v2.1.96 fixes critical Bedrock authentication issues that were causing 403 errors when using AWS bearer tokens or skipping authentication.

April 8, 2026 • 10 min read • By ClaudeWorld

Claude Code v2.1.96 is now available, delivering a crucial fix for Amazon Bedrock users who experienced authentication failures in recent versions. This patch release addresses a regression that prevented proper AWS credential handling.

What’s New

Fixed Bedrock Authentication Issues

This release resolves a critical regression introduced in v2.1.94 that caused Bedrock requests to fail with 403 "Authorization header is missing" errors. The fix specifically addresses issues when using:

  • AWS_BEARER_TOKEN_BEDROCK environment variable for token-based authentication
  • CLAUDE_CODE_SKIP_BEDROCK_AUTH flag for bypassing standard authentication flows

Users who rely on these authentication methods can now connect to Amazon Bedrock services without encountering the authorization header error that was blocking their workflows.

How to Update

To update to Claude Code v2.1.96:

  1. Check your current version: claude-code --version
  2. Update using your package manager or download the latest release
  3. Verify the update: claude-code --version should show v2.1.96
  4. Test your Bedrock connections to ensure the authentication fix is working