[FEATURE] Custom temp file allocation.

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Claude Code currently stores all its data under C:\Users\<user>\.claude and uses the system temp directory (typically C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Temp) for temporary files. There is no supported way to relocate these paths.

This creates a hard dependency on the system drive having sufficient free space — which isn't always the case.

Proposed Solution

Support a CLAUDE_HOME environment variable (and/or a --data-dir CLI flag) that controls where Claude Code stores:

• Configuration and settings
• Session data and conversation history
• Credential/auth token storage
• Cache files
• Temporary working files (or respect a separate CLAUDE_TEMP_DIR)

Example usage:

# Environment variable
set CLAUDE_HOME=Z:\.claude

# Or CLI flag
claude --data-dir Z:\.claude

The default behavior would remain unchanged (fall back to %USERPROFILE%\.claude), so this is purely opt-in.

Alternative Solutions

What I've tried:

• Directory junctions / symlinks — Creating a junction from C:\Users\<me>\.claude to Z:\.claude works initially, but breaks credential storage and authentication. Claude Code appears to resolve or validate real paths for its auth tokens, so after creating a junction I have to reinstall and re-authenticate, which puts everything back on C:.
• Relocating %TEMP% — Moving the system-wide TEMP variable to Z: works for Claude's temp files but causes issues with other Windows applications that expect temp to be on the system drive.
• Periodic cleanup — Currently my workaround is manually clearing temp files between sessions, which is disruptive and limits how much continuous work I can do.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_