Claude Code's allow_large setting: how to read large files without truncation

A guide explains how Claude Code handles oversized file reads and why a read can appear successful while only covering the beginning of a file. Per a Claude Code docs issue, this partial-view behavior arrived around version 2.1.145. Previously, reading an oversized file in full failed with a 'file content exceeds maximum allowed tokens' error, which older tutorials still reference. The guide recommends searching when the target is known, using offset and limit to read specific sections, and using allow_large when the whole file is needed and fits. For heavy reading where only conclusions matter, it suggests delegating to a subagent with its own context window.