Claude Code Settings Core

Claude Code Settings: Core

These keys control how Claude Code compacts, remembers, cleans up, and runs shell commands. Most people change only a few of them, such as language or cleanupPeriodDays. For example, { "cleanupPeriodDays": 7 } in ~/.claude/settings.json deletes transcripts after a week.

The marks and the scopes are explained on Settings. A - in the Default column means that neither the docs nor the schema state a default.

Mark	Key	Type	Default	What It Is For	Scope	Source
✅	$schema	string	-	Point your editor at the published JSON schema for autocomplete and checks. Use https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-settings.json.	Settings files	Settings Files and Precedence
✅	attribution	boolean or object	Standard attribution	Customize the attribution Claude Code adds to commits and pull requests. false hides all attribution.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	autoCompactEnabled	boolean	-	Turn automatic compaction off or on.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	autoCompactWindow	number or "auto"	-	Set how full the context gets before Claude Code compacts. A number from 100000 to 1000000 tokens, or "auto" for the window tuned for the model.	Any file	Settings Reference
🔍	autoDreamEnabled	boolean	-	Turn background memory consolidation (auto-dream) on or off. A value here overrides the server-side default.	Settings files	Bundle settings schema
✅	autoMemoryDirectory	string	~/.claude/projects	Store auto memory in a directory you choose. ~/ expands to your home directory. Claude Code ignores the key in the checked-in project file.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	autoMemoryEnabled	boolean	-	Turn auto memory off or on.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	autoUpdatesChannel	enum: latest, stable, rc	latest	Follow the stable release channel instead of latest.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	awaySummaryEnabled	boolean	-	Turn off the session recap shown when you come back to the terminal. The recap shows after 5 or more minutes away.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	bashEditDiffEnabled	boolean	On when the Bash tool handles file edits	Record the files that changed while a Bash command ran in every permission mode. Outside auto and bypassPermissions modes, only user or managed settings can turn it on.	User, managed	Settings Reference
✅	bashOutputMaxChars	integer	30000	Set how much of a successful command's output Claude receives inline. Clamped to 4000-128000. Longer output goes to a file and Claude gets a preview.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	claudeMd	string	-	Inject organization-wide CLAUDE.md instructions from managed settings. Only managed settings honor it.	Managed	Settings Reference
✅	claudeMdExcludes	array of string	-	Skip specific CLAUDE.md files when memory loads. Takes glob patterns or absolute paths. Managed files cannot be excluded.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	cleanupPeriodDays	integer	30	Choose how many days Claude Code keeps transcripts before deleting them. The minimum is 1. --no-session-persistence turns off transcript writes.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	defaultShell	enum: bash, powershell	bash	Choose whether Bash or PowerShell runs the shell commands you type with the ! prefix.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	desktopSessionCleanupPeriodDays	integer	-	Set an age limit in days for Claude Desktop and Cowork transcripts. 0 (the default) means no ceiling. Ignored when org policy sets cleanupPeriodDays.	User, managed	Settings Reference
✅	disableArtifact	boolean	-	Deprecated, so use enableArtifact to turn the Artifact tool off. true still turns the tool off. false is ignored.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	enableArtifact	boolean	On once the feature is available	Turn the Artifact tool on or off. A false in any file turns it off, and no file can turn it back on.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	env	object	-	Set environment variables for every session and its subprocesses.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	fileCheckpointingEnabled	boolean	-	Turn off or on the file snapshots that /rewind restores.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	fileSuggestion	object	-	Supply @ file autocomplete from your own command.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	idleCompaction	boolean	-	Stop Claude Code from compacting a long conversation while your terminal session is idle. Setting true does not turn idle compaction on.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	includeCoAuthoredBy	boolean	true	Deprecated, so use attribution to hide or change commit and PR attribution.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	includeGitInstructions	boolean	true	Remove the built-in commit and PR instructions from Claude's context.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	language	string	-	Have Claude respond in a language other than English.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	minimumVersion	string	-	Keep auto-updates from installing anything below a version.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	plansDirectory	string	~/.claude/plans	Choose where plan mode writes plan files. The path is relative to the project root.	Any file	Settings Reference
🔍	precomputeCompactionEnabled	boolean	-	Build the compaction summary in the background before it is needed. Applies only when auto-compact is on.	Settings files	Bundle settings schema
✅	respectGitignore	boolean	true	Keep gitignored files out of the @ file picker.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	respondToBashCommands	boolean	true	Stop Claude from responding after a ! shell command runs. The command output still joins the context.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	sandbox	object	-	Isolate Bash commands from your filesystem and network on macOS, Linux, and WSL2.	Any file	Settings Reference
✅	skipWebFetchPreflight	boolean	-	Skip the WebFetch hostname check when Anthropic is unreachable.	Any file	Settings Reference
❌	taskOutputMaxChars	integer	-	Has no effect, because the TaskOutput tool was removed. Claude reads a background task output file with Read instead.	Any file	Settings Reference
🔍	todoFeatureEnabled	boolean	-	Turn the todo and task tracking panel on or off.	Settings files	Bundle settings schema
✅	worktree	object	-	Configure how Claude Code creates git worktrees. Covers --worktree, EnterWorktree, and agent isolation.	Any file	Settings Reference

See Also

• Settings explains the marks, the scopes, and the precedence.
• Settings Reference is the docs page for each key.
• Env Vars lists the variables that pair with some keys.
• Memory And Rules covers CLAUDE.md and auto memory.