[DOCS] Settings and env-vars docs understate scope of includeGitInstructions / CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_GIT_INSTRUCTIONS

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings

Section/Topic

includeGitInstructions setting description

Current Documentation

The settings page describes includeGitInstructions as:

Include built-in commit and PR workflow instructions in Claude's system prompt (default: true). Set to false to remove these instructions, for example when using your own git workflow skills.

The env-vars page describes CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_GIT_INSTRUCTIONS as:

Set to 1 to remove built-in commit and PR workflow instructions from Claude's system prompt.

What's Wrong or Missing?

Changelog v2.1.78 fixed these settings not suppressing the git status section in the system prompt. This reveals that the intended scope of these settings is broader than what the docs describe:

• Documented scope: "commit and PR workflow instructions"
• Actual scope: commit and PR workflow instructions and the git status section

Users setting includeGitInstructions: false to fully suppress git-related context in the system prompt would not know from the docs that the git status section is also suppressed. The description should reflect the full scope.

Suggested Improvement

Settings page — before:

Include built-in commit and PR workflow instructions in Claude's system prompt

Settings page — after:

Include built-in git instructions (commit/PR workflows and git status) in Claude's system prompt

Env-vars page — before:

Set to 1 to remove built-in commit and PR workflow instructions from Claude's system prompt.

Env-vars page — after:

Set to 1 to remove built-in git instructions (commit/PR workflows and git status) from Claude's system prompt.

Impact

Low - Minor confusion or inconvenience

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

| Page | Context |
|------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings | includeGitInstructions setting description |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars | CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_GIT_INSTRUCTIONS env var description |

Total scope: 2 pages affected

Source: Changelog v2.1.78

Fixed CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_GIT_INSTRUCTIONS and includeGitInstructions setting not suppressing the git status section in the system prompt