Support configurable settings file location to allow full relocation of Claude Code's filesystem footprint

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

Claude Code's settings file is hardcoded to ~/.claude/settings.json. While autoMemoryDirectory exists to relocate memory storage, discovering that setting requires reading the profile-directory settings file first. This makes it impossible to fully relocate Claude Code's filesystem footprint outside of C:\Users\<username>\ on Windows, regardless of how memory is configured.

Proposed Solution

Support a CLAUDE_SETTINGS_FILE environment variable that points to an arbitrary settings file path, allowing the entire Claude Code configuration and memory footprint to live outside the user profile directory.

Alternative Solutions

Support a --settings <path> CLI argument that specifies the settings file location at launch, achieving the same result without requiring an environment variable.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

Enterprise and security-conscious users may have policies or preferences that restrict tooling from accessing the user profile directory, or require all AI-related file activity to occur within a controlled, auditable path. The autoMemoryDirectory setting suggests this use case was partially anticipated, but the dependency on the profile-directory settings file makes it impossible to fully satisfy. Supporting a configurable settings path would complete the story.

Additional Context

_No response_