[Accessibility] Add option to disable time elapsed/progress indicators for screen readers (re-filed)

Re-filed from #10340

The original issue (#10340) was incorrectly closed by the auto-close bot despite active human comments confirming the issue was still occurring. It is now locked. A related duplicate (#12898) was also closed. Re-filing so this accessibility issue remains trackable. See #16497 regarding the bot behavior.

Problem

When using Claude Code with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, etc.), the time elapsed indicators and progress updates cause significant usability issues:

• Screen readers announce every update (1s... 2s... 3s...)
• This creates a flood of speech output that can hang or overwhelm the screen reader
• Users cannot effectively work with Claude Code while tasks are running
• The constant announcements make it difficult to focus on actual work

Current Workarounds

Users currently must:

• Manually toggle screen reader speech off before starting tasks (NVDA+S)
• Work "blind" while Claude Code executes
• Manually re-enable speech when complete
• This defeats the purpose of using a screen reader

Requested Feature

Add a configuration option to disable or reduce real-time progress indicators, such as:

1. Environment variable: CLAUDE_CODE_QUIET_MODE=1 to suppress time elapsed messages
2. Settings option: A dedicated quiet/screen-reader mode in Claude Code settings
3. Status line control: Option to only show final results, not ongoing progress

What Has Been Tried

• The prefersReducedMotion setting exists but does not fully resolve this
• The DISABLE_NON_ESSENTIAL_MODEL_CALLS environment variable does not affect progress indicators
• The INK_SCREEN_READER flag does not suppress these updates

Why This Matters

Accessibility is critical for developers who rely on screen readers. Currently, Claude Code's verbose real-time output creates barriers that prevent effective use of the tool. A simple configuration option would make Claude Code fully accessible to blind and visually impaired developers.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Screen Reader: NVDA 2025.3.2
• Terminal: Windows Terminal
• Issue present since at least Claude Code v2.0.58