[Feature Request] Add repository-level setting to disable automatic Git context loading

Problem

Claude Code automatically loads Git information (git status, commit history from .git/logs/HEAD, etc.) at the start of every session. While this is helpful for active development projects, it can be unnecessary for certain types of repositories.

Observed Token Consumption

In a repository with 73 commit entries in .git/logs/HEAD:

• Commit history alone: ~4,000 tokens (~55 tokens per entry)
• Additional Git metadata: ~14,000 tokens
• Total Git context: ~18,000 tokens per session

For personal repositories like note-taking systems where Git operations are infrequent, this context is rarely used but consumes tokens in every session.

Scaling Impact

The token cost scales with repository history:

• Small repos (10-20 commits): ~3,000-5,000 tokens
• Medium repos (50-100 commits): ~10,000-20,000 tokens
• Large repos (200+ commits): ~25,000+ tokens

Proposed Solution

Add a repository-level setting in .claude/settings.local.json to control Git context loading:

{
  "git": {
    "autoLoadContext": false
  }
}

Or more granular control:

{
  "git": {
    "includeStatus": true,      // git status (minimal cost)
    "includeHistory": false,     // .git/logs/HEAD
    "maxHistoryEntries": 5       // limit history entries if included
  }
}

Benefits

1. Token efficiency: Significant savings for repos where Git context is rarely needed
2. Faster session startup: Less context to process
3. Repository-specific configuration: Enable/disable per repository based on workflow
4. Backward compatible: Default behavior remains unchanged (all context loaded)

Use Cases

Repos that benefit from disabled Git context:

• Personal note-taking/memo systems
• Documentation-only repositories
• Single-developer projects with minimal Git operations
• Knowledge bases where commits are infrequent

Repos that should keep Git context:

• Team development projects
• Active feature development with frequent commits/PRs
• Projects requiring Git workflow awareness

Current Workaround

We implemented a workaround that reduces .git/logs/HEAD to 2 entries after each commit:

tail -2 .git/logs/HEAD > /tmp/HEAD.new && mv /tmp/HEAD.new .git/logs/HEAD

Result: Saves ~4,000 tokens (commit history portion only)
Limitation: The remaining ~14,000 tokens of Git metadata are still loaded

This demonstrates the need for a proper configuration option.

Related Issues

• #1104 (addressed indexing performance, but not context loading control)

Implementation Notes

• This is a repository-level setting (.claude/settings.local.json), not global
• Only affects automatic context loading at session start
• Git commands (git status, git commit, etc.) would still work normally when explicitly invoked
• Suggestion: Load Git context on-demand when Git-related keywords are detected in user input

Thank you for considering this feature request!