Support per-project agent auto-loading via settings.json
Feature Request
Is your feature request related to a problem?
When using custom agents (via --agent), there's no way to auto-load a specific agent for a project. I have to remember to launch with claude --agent my-agent every time I open a session in that project directory. If I forget, I get a vanilla session without my agent's persona.
Describe the solution you'd like
A new agent key in .claude/settings.local.json (or settings.json) that auto-loads the specified agent on session start:
{
"agent": "my-agent"
}
This would be equivalent to launching with claude --agent my-agent but tied to the project directory.
Describe alternatives you've considered
- SessionStart hook that
cats the agent file — injects context but doesn't replicate full--agentbehavior - Shell aliases — work but require remembering to use the alias instead of
claude - Launch scripts — same issue, easy to forget
Additional context
This would make project-specific agents much more seamless — open a terminal in the project dir, run claude, and the right agent loads automatically.
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