[FEATURE] Ephemeral/Fresh Start Mode for Claude Code

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

When demonstrating Claude Code to new users, I want to show them the default out-of-the-box experience they'll encounter on first install. Currently, there's no simple way to temporarily run Claude Code without my accumulated configuration (skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers) interfering with the demo.

Proposed Solution

Introduce an ephemeral profile mode (e.g., claude --ephemeral or claude --demo) that:

• Starts with a clean, temporary configuration
• Allows installing skills, agents, and MCP servers within the session for demonstration purposes
• Discards all changes when the session ends
• Does not affect the user's actual configuration

Alternative Solutions

A simpler --fresh or --pristine flag that temporarily ignores all existing configuration (skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers, user/project settings) for that session only, without the ability to persist demo changes.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

Scenario:
A developer wants to show a colleague how Claude Code works out-of-the-box, without their custom configuration affecting the experience.

Steps:

1. Start ephemeral session claude --ephemeral
2. Show default first-run experience
3. Walk through the welcome prompts and initial setup
4. Demonstrate basic commands and interactions as a new user would see them
5. Do your full demonstration
6. Exit the session
7. All demo configuration (installed skills, settings) is automatically discarded
8. Original user configuration remains untouched
9. Resume normal work using claude
10. Returns to full personal configuration with all skills, agents, and hooks intact

Additional Context

_No response_