Overheard on GitHub
A Claude Code User Found Their Install in a Hidden Experiment Called 'tengu_clever_orbit'. One Web Page Read Was Stopped After 11 Minutes
A Max-plan user filed a GitHub issue on 2 November saying their Claude Code install has been in a server-side experiment named tengu_clever_orbit since 29 October, with no opt-in and no notice. The report says the experiment removes the WebFetch tool from the main conversation and hands page reads to a built-in web-fetch agent, and that simple documentation questions now leave sessions waiting for minutes. The experiment is called clever orbit, which is at least an accurate description of where the page went.
Key facts
- The reporter says they "never opted in, saw no notice, and found no documented way to leave it."
- A second user commented on 3 November that the same flag is in their 2.1.295 engine and that their transcripts show the web-fetch agent in every session since 29 October (six of six checked).
- That commenter says the replacement agent inherited the session's own model, not Haiku as the original report assumed.
- The issue is labelled bug and regression; as of 3 November it showed no reply from Anthropic.
Sources
- Original reportGitHub: anthropics/claude-code issue #106743 github.com
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