Feature Request: Add defaultRunInBackground setting for Bash commands

Resolved 💬 4 comments Opened Dec 27, 2025 by jujo1 Closed Feb 21, 2026

Feature Request

Add a global setting to run Bash commands in background by default.

Proposed Setting

{
  "bash": {
    "defaultRunInBackground": true
  }
}

Or as an environment variable:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_BASH_DEFAULT_BACKGROUND": "1"
  }
}

Use Case

Power users running long-running commands (builds, tests, servers) want them to automatically run in background without:

  • Manually pressing Ctrl+B each time
  • Asking Claude to "run in background" every session
  • Waiting for commands to complete before continuing

Current Behavior

run_in_background is only available as a per-invocation parameter on the Bash tool, with no way to set a default.

Expected Behavior

When defaultRunInBackground: true is set:

  • All Bash commands run in background by default
  • User can monitor with /tasks
  • Claude can retrieve output with TaskOutput

This would improve workflow for users who prefer async command execution.

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