[BUG] spinnerVerbs, SpinnerTipsOverride, and spinnerTipsEnabled settings are ignored

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?

I have defined my Claude Code settings and included the following settings snippet. I have tried enabling only 1 of these at a time, enabling all 3, using only workspace settings in .claude/settings.json, using only user settings in C:\Users\[username]\.claude\settings.json, and a combination of the two.

After checking the Claude Code logs, I noticed that the program attempted to read my settings from C:\ProgramData\ClaudeCode\settings.json. I created a symlink from this location to C:\Users\[username]\.claude\settings.json to no avail.

None of these affected the behavior or presence of the spinner in Claude Code.

Example settings:

{
  "spinnerTipsEnabled": true,
  "spinnerTipsOverride": {
    "excludeDefault": true,
    "tips": [
      "Calculating hyperspace route..."
    ]
  },
  "spinnerVerbs": {
    "mode": "replace",
    "verbs": [
      "Replacing a bad motivator...",
    ]
  }
}

What Should Happen?

Claude's "thinking" messages should be replaced or edited with custom messages, depending on the setting.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Edit Claude settings with the above JSON
2. Send Claude a message

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.73

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

_No response_