[BUG] Claude ignores settings.json and asks for permission for everything

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?

When I create a global .claude/settings.json in my home directory on Mac, giving it permissions to do a variety of things, it continues to ask permission to do those things, as if no such file existed.

What Should Happen?

Claude should read the settings.json and stop asking me permission to read files, among other things.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a .claude/settings.json with the following:

{
"permissions": {
"allow": [
"Read(**)",
"Read(/Users/julianeden/**)",
"Glob",
"Grep",
"Edit",
"Write",
"Bash(ls:*)",
"Bash(pwd:*)",
"Bash(cd:*)",
"Bash(cat:*)",
"Bash(head:*)",
"Bash(tail:*)",
"Bash(find:*)",
"Bash(tree:*)",
"Bash(grep:*)",
"Bash(git status:*)",
"Bash(git diff:*)",
"Bash(git log:*)",
"Bash(git branch:*)",
"Bash(git show:*)",
"Bash(git add:*)",
"Bash(git commit:*)",
"Bash(git push:*)",
"Bash(git pull:*)",
"Bash(git checkout:*)",
"Bash(npm install:*)",
"Bash(npm run:*)",
"Bash(npm start:*)",
"Bash(npm test:*)",
"Bash(npm run build:*)",
"Bash(npm run build-prod:*)",
"Bash(npx:*)",
"Bash(npx ts-node:*)",
"Bash(npx tsc:*)",
"Bash(node:*)",
"Bash(node -e:*)",
"Bash(curl:*)",
"Bash(wget:*)",
"Bash(echo:*)",
"Bash(mkdir:*)",
"Bash(cp:*)",
"Bash(mv:*)",
"Bash(touch:*)",
"Bash(which:*)",
"Bash(env:*)",
"Bash(printenv:*)",
"Bash(wc:*)",
"Bash(sort:*)",
"Bash(uniq:*)",
"Bash(awk:*)",
"Bash(sed:*)"
],
"deny": [
"Bash(rm -rf:*)",
"Bash(sudo:*)",
"Bash(chmod 777:*)",
"Bash(dd:*)",
"Bash(mkfs:*)",
"Bash(git push --force:*)",
"Bash(git reset --hard:*)"
],
"ask": []
},
"alwaysThinkingEnabled": true
}


Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.0.31

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_