activeOutputStyle setting not propagated to status line runtime context

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jan 17, 2026 by bobmatnyc Closed Jan 21, 2026

Bug Description

When a custom output style is selected via /output-style, the activeOutputStyle setting in ~/.claude/settings.json is not propagated to the runtime context passed to custom status line commands. This causes the status line to show default even when a custom style is active.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Deploy a custom output style to ~/.claude/output-styles/
  2. Configure a custom status line command that displays the active style:

``json
{
"statusLine": {
"type": "command",
"command": "read input && echo \"style:$(echo \"$input\" | jq -r '.output_style.name // \"default\"')\""
}
}
``

  1. Select the custom output style via /output-style
  2. Observe the command reports "Set output style to [Custom Style]"
  3. Bug: Status line shows style:default instead of the selected style

Expected Behavior

The status line should display the active output style name. The runtime JSON passed to status line commands should include:

{
  "output_style": {
    "name": "Custom Style Name"
  }
}

Actual Behavior

The settings file correctly shows:

{
  "activeOutputStyle": "Custom Style Name"
}

But the runtime context passed to status line commands does not include output_style.name, causing .output_style.name to return null and fall back to "default".

Schema Mismatch

| Component | Key Used |
|-----------|----------|
| Settings persistence | activeOutputStyle (string at root) |
| Status line runtime context | output_style.name (nested object) - missing |

Workaround

Update the jq expression to check both locations:

jq -r '.output_style.name // .activeOutputStyle // "default"'

Environment

  • Claude Code version: 2.1.11
  • OS: macOS
  • Custom output styles deployed to ~/.claude/output-styles/

Related Issues

  • #6126 - Documentation inconsistency with outputStyle setting
  • #9947 - Unable to activate custom output styles

View original on GitHub ↗

This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗