[BUG] "Respect Git Ignore" setting doesn't prevent access to gitignored files via Bash tool

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

The "Respect Git Ignore" setting does not prevent Claude Code from accessing files listed in .gitignore when using the Bash tool to directly read them.

Actual Behavior:
Gitignored files can be accessed via Bash commands despite the "Respect Git Ignore" setting being enabled. This allows Claude Code to access sensitive credential files (.env, .pem, private keys, etc.) that users reasonably expect to be protected by the gitignore setting.

Environment:
Claude Code version: 1.0.120 (Claude Code)
VS Code version: 1.96.4

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior:
The "Respect Git Ignore" setting should block ALL access to gitignored files, including:
Direct file reads via the Bash tool
Read tool access
Grep tool access
Any other method of file access

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce:
Enable "Respect Git Ignore" setting in Claude Code preferences
Ensure a file (e.g., .env) is listed in the repository's .gitignore
Ask Claude Code to run a bash command that directly accesses the gitignored file (e.g., grep -n "PATTERN" .env)
Observe that the command executes successfully and returns the file contents

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.0.120

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

iTerm2

Additional Information

_No response_