Mid-session hook configuration reload (settings.json + hook-script bodies)

Feature request

Add a mechanism for mid-session hook configuration reload so edits to
~/.claude/settings.json or hook-script bodies take effect without exiting
the session and re-launching via claude --resume.

Use cases

1. Iterating on hook scripts during development. Current loop:

edit hook script → exit session → claude --resume → test → repeat.
The exit/resume round-trip is the single biggest friction point in
authoring SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, Stop, and PostToolUse hooks.

1. **Picking up settings.json edits made by parallel sessions or by

skill-driven config changes** (e.g., an update-config skill that
adds a permission rule mid-session — currently the change doesn't
take effect until next session).

1. Recovering from a misconfigured hook without losing in-flight

session context. A blocking UserPromptSubmit hook with a typo
currently requires session restart, which discards conversation
memory built up over hours of work.

Proposed UX (any one of these would close the gap)

• /reload-hooks built-in slash command — explicit, operator-

triggered, predictable. Lowest implementation cost.

• Automatic file-watcher on settings.json + hook-script paths —

zero-friction; matches nodemon / watchexec precedent.

• SIGHUP-equivalent process signal — Unix-idiomatic; matches

nginx -s reload, systemctl reload, shell hash -r. Useful for
tooling integration (e.g., a watcher process external to Claude Code).

Prior art

• nginx -s reload / systemctl reload <unit> (signal-based config reload)
• Shell hash -r (PATH cache invalidation)
• nodemon / watchexec / air (file-watcher dev loops)
• VS Code "Reload Window" command

Acceptance criteria

• [ ] Mechanism re-reads ~/.claude/settings.json (and project-local

settings.local.json) without restarting the session.

• [ ] Hook scripts referenced by the new config are invoked correctly

on the next matching event.

• [ ] In-flight session state (conversation history, memory, working

directory) is preserved across the reload.

• [ ] Failure mode is graceful — a malformed settings.json does not

crash the session; old config remains active until reload succeeds.

Filed from

Operator-friction encountered during hook-driven workflow development
in @TroyBertolino's private project (2026-05-03).