[BUG] VS Code extension ignores remoteControlAtStartup setting from ~/.claude.json

[shaharsha]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues to make sure this isn't a duplicate
• This is a single bug report (not bundling multiple bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's wrong?

The VS Code extension does not auto-enable Remote Control on session start, even though remoteControlAtStartup is set to true in ~/.claude.json. The setting works correctly in the CLI terminal — Remote Control starts automatically. In VS Code, I have to manually run /remote-control each session.

What should happen?

When remoteControlAtStartup: true is set in ~/.claude.json, the VS Code extension should auto-enable Remote Control on session start, same as the CLI does.

Steps to reproduce

1. Run /config in Claude Code CLI and enable "Enable Remote Control for all sessions"
2. Verify ~/.claude.json contains "remoteControlAtStartup": true
3. Open a new Claude Code session in the CLI terminal — Remote Control starts automatically ✅
4. Open a new Claude Code session in the VS Code extension — Remote Control does NOT start automatically ❌
5. /remote-control works when run manually in VS Code, so the feature itself is supported

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Claude Code Version

2.1.87

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

VS Code

Additional Information

Related issues: #29929 (CLI persistence bug, closed as dupe of #29266), #28951 (older issue about /rc not supported in VS Code — but /remote-control now works in VS Code, just not the auto-enable).

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. "Enable Remote Control for all sessions" resets to false despite persisted config #29929
2. remoteControlAtStartup: true silently fails due to feature flag race condition #30432
3. Add remoteControlEnabled setting to auto-start /remote-control on session start #37589

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #29929.

If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[mischacoster]

This is NOT a duplicate of #29929, since it's about the VSCode extensions. remoteControlAtStartup works fine for me in terminal (doesn't reset like mentioned in #29929) but is NOT enabled by defualt in new VSCode sessions using the Claude Code extension

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.