VS Code extension: Allow configuring CLI flags (e.g. research preview features like --auto-permissions)

Problem

The VS Code extension for Claude Code does not expose a setting to pass additional command-line flags to the underlying claude CLI process. This means research preview features that are enabled via CLI flags — such as --auto-permissions (announced here) — are inaccessible to VS Code users.

Terminal/CLI users can simply run claude --auto-permissions, but VS Code extension users have no equivalent mechanism.

Proposed Solution

Add a VS Code extension setting (e.g. claude-code.additionalCliArgs or claude-code.commandLineFlags) that accepts an array of strings to be appended to the claude CLI invocation. For example:

{
  "claude-code.additionalCliArgs": ["--auto-permissions"]
}

This would allow VS Code users to opt into research preview features and any other CLI-only flags without needing to leave the IDE.

Alternatives Considered

• Switching to the terminal CLI: Works but defeats the purpose of the VS Code integration.
• Environment variables: Could work for some flags, but not all CLI options have env var equivalents.
• Hardcoding individual settings per flag: Doesn't scale — a generic passthrough is more maintainable.

Additional Context

As research preview features are increasingly shipped behind CLI flags, the gap between terminal and VS Code users will continue to grow. A generic CLI args passthrough would future-proof the extension for upcoming features as well.