SessionStart hooks fire for disabled plugins (settings.local.json override ignored)

Important Update: Directory-Specific Behavior

After further investigation, this error only occurs in certain directories, not globally:

• ❌ Error occurs: Starting Claude Code from ~/Projects/harrys-app (a non-git project directory)
• ✅ No error: Starting Claude Code from ~ (home directory where ~/.claude folder lives)

Additional Context

The harrys-app directory:

• Is NOT a git repository
• Has no .claude folder or project-level settings
• Contains only: app.py, CLAUDE.md, requirements.txt, .vscode/, and a few other files

Revised Theory

The hook loading behavior may differ based on:

1. Whether the working directory is a git repository
2. Proximity to the ~/.claude folder
3. How project vs. global settings are resolved per-directory

This suggests the issue isn't just about settings.local.json being ignored, but rather a directory-context-dependent hook loading bug.

Update: git init did NOT fix the issue

Initialized a git repository in the project directory, but the SessionStart:startup hook error still occurs.

This rules out the "not a git repo" theory. The issue persists even with:

• A valid git repository
• No project-level .claude folder
• Standard project files only

Will continue investigating other potential causes.

Root Cause Analysis

The hook script runs correctly when invoked directly:

cd ~/Projects/harrys-app
bash ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/superpowers/4.0.3/hooks/session-start.sh
# Outputs valid JSON, no errors

The Invocation Chain

Claude Code calls:

"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/run-hook.cmd" session-start.sh

Which on Windows invokes:

"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe" -l "%~dp0%~1"

The -l flag creates a login shell, which sources profile files (.bash_profile, .bashrc, etc.).

Likely Cause

The error appears to be in the startup invocation context, not the hook script itself. Possible issues:

1. CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT environment variable not set correctly at startup
2. Login shell profile sourcing causes issues on Windows before Claude fully initializes
3. Working directory state differs between startup and running contexts
4. The error may be in the hook wrapper dispatch, not the hook itself

Environment

• Windows 11
• Git Bash via C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe
• Plugin: superpowers@claude-plugins-official v4.0.3

Clarification: The Core Bug

I got sidetracked analyzing the hook script, but that's not the issue.

The actual bug: The superpowers plugin is disabled in settings.local.json:

"enabledPlugins": {
  "superpowers@claude-plugins-official": false
}

Yet Claude Code still attempts to run its SessionStart hook.

A disabled plugin's hooks should never execute. The error occurs because Claude Code is trying to invoke a hook from a plugin that should be completely inactive.

Expected Behavior

• Plugin disabled in settings.local.json → hooks don't run

Actual Behavior

• Plugin disabled in settings.local.json → hooks still run (and error)

The hook script working or not is irrelevant—it should never be called in the first place.

This is a Blocking Bug for Multi-Machine Setups

The settings.local.json file exists specifically to allow machine-specific overrides that don't get synced to other hosts.

Use case: User syncs ~/.claude/settings.json across machines via git, but needs to disable certain plugins on specific machines via settings.local.json.

Current behavior: settings.local.json plugin overrides are ignored for hooks, forcing users to either:

1. Disable plugins globally (breaking other machines)
2. Stop syncing settings (losing the benefit of shared config)

Neither workaround is acceptable. The settings.local.json override mechanism needs to work for plugin hooks.

Workaround Found

Project-level settings work, even though settings.local.json doesn't.

Creating .claude/settings.json in the project directory successfully disables the plugin:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "superpowers@claude-plugins-official": false
  }
}

Summary

| Settings Location | Plugin Override | Hooks Respected? |
|-------------------|-----------------|------------------|
| ~/.claude/settings.json | ✅ Works | ✅ Yes |
| ~/.claude/settings.local.json | ❌ Ignored | ❌ No |
| <project>/.claude/settings.json | ✅ Works | ✅ Yes |

The bug is specifically with settings.local.json - it's not being applied to hook loading, while both global and project-level settings work correctly.

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/17942
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/19487
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/17017

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

I don't think it's a duplicate, but it is similar.

My issue was that the personal settings in ~/.claude/settings.local.json are not respected in other projects.

For example, I had to create a <project>/.claude/settings.json file that also disables the same plugin that ~/.claude/settings.local.json disables.

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

What is the point in the community reporting issues if you just IGNORE them?

Please make an effort to fix bugs and not just add new features otherwise you won't have a product users want to use!

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.