Claude Code Settings Helper

VS Code extension providing IntelliSense, JSON schema validation, and settings override visualization for Claude Code configuration files.

Features

IntelliSense & Autocomplete

Get intelligent suggestions for all Claude Code settings as you type, including:

• Model configuration
• Permission rules (allow, deny, ask)
• Sandbox settings
• Hooks configuration
• MCP server settings
• Environment variables
• And more

JSON Schema Validation

Instant validation against the Claude Code settings schema with helpful error messages for:

• Invalid property names
• Incorrect value types
• Missing required fields
• Deprecated settings

Override Visualization

Claude Code settings follow a precedence hierarchy. This extension shows you:

• Which settings are being overridden by higher-precedence files
• Which settings are overriding lower-precedence files
• The effective value that Claude Code will actually use

CodeLens Indicators

Inline indicators appear above settings to show:

• Overrides: User - This setting overrides a value from your user settings
• Overridden by: Local - This setting is overridden by a local settings file

Quick Navigation

Jump between settings files at different levels:

• Open user settings (~/.claude/settings.json)
• Open project settings (.claude/settings.json)
• Open local settings (.claude/settings.local.json)
• Navigate directly to where a setting is defined at another level

Hover Information

Hover over any setting to see:

• Current value and level
• Effective value (what Claude Code will use)
• All levels where this setting is defined
• Override chain visualization

Settings Hierarchy

Claude Code settings are loaded from multiple locations with the following precedence (highest to lowest):

Level	Location	Description
Enterprise	System-wide managed settings	IT-managed configuration (read-only)
Local	.claude/settings.local.json	Machine-specific project settings (gitignored)
Project	.claude/settings.json	Shared project settings (committed to repo)
User	~/.claude/settings.json	Personal user defaults
Legacy	~/.claude.json	Legacy user settings format

Higher-precedence settings override lower-precedence ones. For example, a setting in settings.local.json will override the same setting in settings.json.

Installation

From VSIX

1. Download the .vsix file from releases
2. In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
3. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
4. Select the downloaded file

From Source

git clone https://github.com/your-username/vscode-claude-settings-schema-helper.git
cd vscode-claude-settings-schema-helper
npm install
npm run compile

Then press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.

Usage

The extension activates automatically when you open any Claude Code settings file:

• .claude/settings.json
• .claude/settings.local.json
• ~/.claude/settings.json
• ~/.claude.json

Commands

Access these commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Command	Description
Claude Settings: Open User Settings	Open ~/.claude/settings.json
Claude Settings: Open Project Settings	Open .claude/settings.json in workspace
Claude Settings: Open Local Settings	Open .claude/settings.local.json in workspace
Claude Settings: Open Legacy User Settings	Open ~/.claude.json
Claude Settings: Go to User Setting	Navigate to setting definition in user file
Claude Settings: Go to Project Setting	Navigate to setting definition in project file
Claude Settings: Go to Local Setting	Navigate to setting definition in local file
Claude Settings: Show Setting at All Levels	Show where a setting is defined across all levels

Extension Settings

Configure the extension behavior in VS Code settings:

Setting	Default	Description
claudeSettings.showOverrideCodeLens	true	Show CodeLens indicators for settings that override or are overridden
claudeSettings.showOverrideDecorations	true	Show inline decorations for override status

Supported Settings

The extension provides IntelliSense for all Claude Code settings including:

• model - Override the default Claude model
• permissions - Configure tool permissions (allow, deny, ask, defaultMode)
• sandbox - Bash command sandboxing configuration
• hooks - Pre/post tool execution hooks
• env - Environment variables
• attribution - Commit and PR attribution settings
• mcpServers - MCP server configuration
• enabledPlugins - Plugin management
• And many more...

See the Claude Code documentation for complete settings reference.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85.0 or higher
• Claude Code CLI (for the settings to have effect)

Development

Building

npm install
npm run compile

Watching for Changes

npm run watch

Linting

npm run lint

Testing

npm test

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License

MIT

Related

• Claude Code - The AI coding assistant these settings configure
• Claude Code Documentation - Official documentation