[BUG] "Yes, and don't ask again" permissions with env var assignments don't persist across sessions

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?

Summary

Commands prefixed with environment variable assignments (e.g., PYTEST_DISABLE_PLUGIN_AUTOLOAD="" uv run --frozen pytest) prompt for approval every new
session despite being approved with "Yes, and don't ask again" in prior sessions.

### Observed behavior

The permission entry is written correctly to .claude/settings.local.json:
"Bash(PYTEST_DISABLE_PLUGIN_AUTOLOAD=\"\" uv run --frozen pytest:*)",
"Bash(PYTEST_DISABLE_PLUGIN_AUTOLOAD=\"\" uv run:*)",

The file persists across sessions (confirmed via stat and the file accumulating entries from many sessions). But commands matching these patterns still
trigger the approval prompt in every new session.

What Should Happen?

### Expected behavior

Commands matching a stored permission pattern should be auto-approved without prompting.

### Suspected cause

The escaped double quotes (\"\") in the JSON-serialized pattern likely don't match correctly against the incoming command's literal ="" when the
permission rules are evaluated at the start of a new session.

### Environment

• macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)
• Claude Code CLI (latest as of 2026-02-26)

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run a command that sets an env var: PYTEST_DISABLE_PLUGIN_AUTOLOAD="" uv run --frozen pytest tests/ -x -v
2. When prompted, select "Yes, and don't ask again for: PYTEST_DISABLE_PLUGIN_AUTOLOAD="" uv run:*"
3. Verify the permission is written to .claude/settings.local.json
4. End the session and start a new one in the same project
5. Run the same command again
6. You are prompted again despite the permission existing in settings.local.json

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

4.6

Claude Code Version

2.1.59 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

iTerm2

Additional Information

_No response_