Claude Code mods let your team add its own house rules to the AI, like 'ask before touching anything live'
By Brett Gavaghan, Founder of Adaptd ·
Anthropic launched mods for Claude Code on 1 October: small add-ons that change how the coding agent behaves. They're mostly for developers, but the safety and logging uses matter to anyone paying for the work.
The short version
- Claude Code mods are small TypeScript add-ons that change how Anthropic's coding agent behaves, looks and works.
- Mods launched on 1 October 2026 for the Claude Code command line and desktop app, and they install as part of plugins.
- If someone builds software for you with Claude Code, ask whether they use mods for approvals and audit logs.
Most AI tools come as they are, take it or leave it. Claude Code now lets you change the rules of the house, which is handy, as long as someone writes the rules down.
What are Claude Code mods?
Claude Code mods are small TypeScript functions that change how Claude Code works. A mod can rewrite prompts, add something to the screen, replace an existing feature or add a new one.
Anthropic's examples include a sidebar that shows whether the latest software build passed, a check that asks for confirmation before the agent touches live production settings, and a log that records every action for compliance. That last one is the boring one. Boring is underrated when an AI can change your systems.
Who can use them, and how?
Claude Code mods work in both the Claude Code command line tool and the desktop app. You can install them from the Claude directory, or ask Claude Code to write one for you.
Mods ship inside plugins, so any controls a business already has over plugins apply to mods as well. A mod also has the same access to the computer as Claude Code itself, so it deserves the same care as any software you install.
Should your business do anything about it?
Most business owners don't need to touch Claude Code mods, because they're a developer tool. If a developer or agency builds software for you with Claude Code, though, they're worth a question at your next check-in.
My advice: ask two things. Does the agent need a person's approval before it changes anything live, and is there a record of what it did? If the answer is 'we just trust it', that's a lot of trust for something that has never sat a job interview.
Wondering what this means for your business?
That's exactly what the discovery call is for.