Summary
In Claude Code 2.1.198, released July 1, 2026, background agents launched from claude agents now commit, push, and open a draft pull request when they finish code work in a worktree, instead of stopping to ask. The same release wave adds background-agent notifications (agent_needs_input / agent_completed hooks), automatic resume of agents killed by a daemon restart, and makes subagents run in the background by default.
What changed
Claude Code changed background-agent behavior so that on completing worktree code work they automatically commit, push, and open a draft PR; added Notification-hook events for agents needing input or completing, auto-resume of daemon-killed workers, and background-by-default subagents.
Why it matters
Auto-opening a draft PR turns background coding agents into hands-off workers whose output lands directly in code review, shifting the human role from babysitting runs to reviewing finished pull requests and reinforcing an assign-and-review agent workflow.
Evidence excerpt
Background agents launched from claude agents now commit, push, and open a draft PR when they finish code work in a worktree, instead of stopping to ask (Claude Code 2.1.198, July 1, 2026).