[FEATURE] Per-context session color presets via CLI flag or project settings

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

I use Claude Code across multiple contexts — different projects and workflows. The /color
command exists to visually distinguish sessions, but it's interactive-only. Every new session
requires manually typing /color X again. There's no way to launch Claude pre-colored or
define per-context color defaults.

This gets messy quickly — without colors set from the start, it's hard to find the right
session at a glance, especially when switching frequently. As someone who relies heavily on
shell aliases to manage workflows, the lack of a --color flag means this one step always
has to be done manually inside the session, breaking the otherwise alias-driven flow.

Proposed Solution

Two complementary approaches:

1. CLI flag: claude --color pink sets the session color at launch, enabling shell aliases like:

• alias claude-work='claude --color blue'
• alias claude-personal='claude --color green'

1. Project-level .claude/settings.json with a "color" key, so opening Claude in a

specific repo auto-applies the right color without any alias needed.

Alternative Solutions

No clean workarounds exist. /color cannot be piped or scripted at launch. Shell aliases
that append /color after claude don't work since it's an interactive command, not a
CLI argument.

Priority

Low - Nice to have

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

I work across different types of projects and workflows in Claude Code and use session colors
to tell them apart at a glance. Today I have to remember to /color every new session.
A --color flag or project-level setting would eliminate this entirely.

Additional Context

elated issue: #41887 (persist color globally via settings.json). This request extends that
to per-context presets via CLI flag + project-level config.