Configure claude-rs

Use /config to change saved defaults and interface preferences. To change the model or permission mode only for the current conversation, use the session commands. See the settings reference for file locations, keys, scopes and effective behavior. Most settings need an active session to load; if the list is still connecting, wait for the session before editing.

Save a preference

1. Open /config. In General, press /, type Reduce motion, then press Enter to move to the result.
2. Press Enter on the result to leave search with that setting selected.
3. Press s until User is the selected scope.
4. Use Left or Right to choose On. This kind of setting saves immediately; closing the window does not undo it.
5. Check for Saved. and the new value. Reduce motion applies immediately. Press Esc to return to chat.

To remove your override, select the same setting and scope and press Delete. The inherited value or Default returns; reset does not restore a previous edit.

Claude Code Rust has a fullscreen settings surface with multiple tabs. These slash commands open that surface directly:

The settings surface is session-aware. Settings load when the app’s session starts, and some tabs need an active session before they can show live data.

Opening and navigating

Every command in the table above opens the same fullscreen surface on a different starting tab. The tab order is:

Settings -> Plugins -> Status -> Usage -> MCP -> Help

Tab moves to the next tab and Shift+Tab to the previous one. Esc closes the surface. Enter closes it as well wherever the selected item has no action of its own. The hint line at the bottom of the surface shows what Enter and Esc do at the current position. Each tab also has its own keys: the Plugins tab navigates plugin lists, the MCP tab opens server actions and authorization flows, the Status tab renames the session with r or generates a title with g, and the Usage tab refreshes with r.

Settings panes

The Settings tab has a second row with six panes: General, Memory, Permissions, Sandbox, Hooks, and Workflows & Worktrees. Each pane is one alphabetical list. Focus moves between three areas stacked from top to bottom: the pane row, the search field, and the list.

Each pane remembers its own selection. Switching to another top-level tab and back keeps the pane, selection and search.

Below 30 columns or 12 rows the surface asks you to resize the window instead of drawing an unusable layout.

Search

Press / to search the current pane. A setting matches when its label, description or setting ID contains every word you typed, ignoring case. Search covers only the current pane and never looks inside saved values such as hook commands, credential entries or environment values.

Switching panes clears the search.

Reading the list

Each row shows a setting and its value, and a counter such as 1/27 shows the position in the pane. Below the list, Description: explains the selected setting and a context line states where its value comes from at the selected scope:

Default means that no scope sets a value. It does not say whether the built-in behavior is On or Off; where the built-in behavior is known, the description states it, for example Default: On.

Read-only restrictions and settings-file errors appear as warnings below the description.

Claude decides which settings files it loads: some invalid entries are ignored individually, while other schema errors exclude the whole file. Not loaded reports that outcome without naming the cause. Saving and resetting still work on any readable file, and correcting the offending value restores loading.

Editing a value

Changes made with Left, Right or Space are saved as you make them, so closing with Enter or Esc discards nothing.

The text editor used for settings such as Language takes Enter to save, Ctrl+R to reset and Esc to cancel.

Reset removes the value saved at the selected scope. The row then shows the value from another scope, or Default. Reset does not write a replacement value and does not restore an earlier edit.

While a save is in progress the row keeps showing the last confirmed value. A successful save shows Saved.

Saving a default never changes the running session. Use /model, /mode, /effort, /thinking, /agent, /fast or /ultracode for the current session; see Session Commands.

Lists and structured settings

Permission rules, directory and domain lists, hook definitions and the structured sandbox settings open an editor instead of changing in place. The row in the main list shows how many entries are saved at the selected scope.

The editor loads only the entries saved at the selected scope, not a merged view of all scopes, and keeps that scope until it closes.

While typing in a field:

Rules for these structured editors:

• Edits stay in a draft until Ctrl+S. Accepting a field does not write the file.
• Many lists merge across scopes. Removing the last entry saves an explicit empty list, and entries from other scopes still apply. Reset removes the setting from this scope instead.
• Invalid JSON or a value that Claude rejects keeps the draft open for correction. Nothing is written.
• If the file changed on disk while the editor was open, the editor loads the latest version and keeps your draft. Save again to confirm.
• If the session moves to another project while an editor is open, saving is blocked. Close the editor and open it again.
• A scope that cannot be edited can still be opened for inspection.
• Opening, browsing and validating never run hooks or credential helpers, and never read secret files or environment values. Header values and command arguments are redacted in summaries.
• Fields that the form does not know are preserved when you save.

Editing permission rules

In the Permissions pane, open Allow rules, Ask rules, Deny rules or Additional directories. Add one tool rule per entry, for example Bash(npm test *) or Read(./src/**). A deny rule wins over an allow rule from any scope.

Editing hooks

Hooks → Definitions shows a flat list with each hook’s event, matcher and action.

• a starts guided creation: choose an event, enter an optional matcher, choose an action, fill its required fields, then review. Enter on the review step adds the hook to the draft and opens its optional fields. Esc goes back one step and cancels at the first step.
• Enter edits the selected hook.
• m edits the matcher of the hook’s group. Every hook in that group shares the matcher.
• Delete removes only the selected hook.

Hook actions are command, prompt, agent, HTTP and MCP tool. Event names come from the installed SDK. The JSON view shows the same definitions in the settings-file format:

{
  "PreToolUse": [
    {
      "matcher": "Bash",
      "hooks": [
        { "type": "command", "command": "echo Check shell operation", "timeout": 10 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Saving replaces the hooks object at the selected scope. Hooks from other scopes keep merging in. Disable all is a separate On/Off setting.

Command and HTTP actions offer Failure policy (onFailure): continue reports a failed hook and lets the guarded action proceed; block treats the failure as exit code 2. Failures include startup errors, timeouts, exit codes other than 0 or 2, and invalid JSON or JSON that does not match the hook schema. Unset uses continue. Select the field and press Delete to remove only that handler’s override, then Ctrl+S to save.

The SDK ignores this policy for asynchronous hooks and the Stop, SubagentStop, TaskCompleted and TeammateIdle events. It decides whether an event can block an action. Editing or validating the policy never executes a hook.

Editing sandbox settings

Path, domain and command lists use the list editor. Credential protection, TLS termination, Ignored violations and Ripgrep command open forms:

• Required fields are marked with *.
• Fixed choices open a picker.
• Credential entries take file paths and variable names, never secret values.
• TLS termination takes both a CA certificate path and a CA key path, or neither.
• Proxy ports accept whole numbers from 1 to 65535.

Customize the footer

Open /config → General → Footer with Enter or Space. The chat footer uses one row with independently ordered left- and right-aligned groups. Changes save automatically, and the running footer changes after each successful save. Layout and colors load before the first frame and remain available while connecting or authenticating. You can edit the footer when authentication is required, before an agent session exists. The field-position counter appears in the dialog’s top-right corner. The settings row shows Default layout until a layout is saved, then Custom layout.

You can keep editing while a save is in progress. Later edits are saved next, using the confirmed file revision. A failed save or conflict keeps your edits in the dialog and shows an error; Enter retries the save, and Esc discards the unsaved edits and closes. Session changes leave the active footer, editor draft, and local saves intact.

Model, effort, working directory, Git branch, and context remaining support optional colors. Press C to expand a palette directly below the selected field. Arrow keys move between color boxes; the selected color name appears underneath. Enter applies and autosaves the choice, while Esc or C collapses the palette without applying it. Choose Current (Home) to restore the field’s existing appearance. Permission mode, Fast mode, and Ultracode retain their fixed colors. Narrow windows show fewer boxes per row and keep the focused box visible.