Wookiee honor code

The Wookiee honor code was a rule in Wookiee culture which forbade Wookiees from using their extendable claws for anything other than climbing. In 34 ABY, Chewbacca, a Wookiee from Kashyyyk, broke the code when he furiously used his claws to kill a First Order stormtrooper after Kylo Ren killed Han Solo, Ren's father and Chewbacca's friend. Even though Chewbacca knowingly violated the Wookiee honor code, he rationalized that there was no honor among the First Order and that Ren had broken all of the rules when he killed Solo.

Behind the scenes
The Wookiee honor code was first mentioned in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel by Michael Kogge, a 2016 adaptation of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Although the honor code is mentioned in the novel's first edition, the passage in which it appears was removed in some subsequent versions. A similar honor code existed in Star Wars Legends, and Wookiees who broke it were exiled and referred to as "madclaws."

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel