[FEATURE] Option to set output style in non-interactive mode
Resolved 💬 7 comments Opened Aug 20, 2025 by j-greig Closed Jan 6, 2026
Description
Currently (v1.0.81) output styles as introduced in the recent release only work in interactive mode via /output-style command. There's no way to use custom output styles with the -p (print/headless) mode, which limits automation and scripting capabilities.
## Current Behavior
- Output styles can only be set interactively using
/output-style [style] - The
outputStylefield in.claude/settings.local.jsondoesn't affect-p
mode
- Custom output styles in
.claude/output-styles/cannot be used with headless
execution
## Desired Behavior
Add support for output styles in non-interactive mode through one or more of
these approaches:
- CLI flag:
claude -p "prompt" --output-style french-teacher - Settings respect: Have
-pmode respect theoutputStylefield in
settings.json
- System prompt integration: Allow output style files to be loaded as system
prompts
## Use Cases
- Automated generation with specific communication styles (e.g., different
languages, educational modes)
- Batch processing with custom output requirements
- Integration with tools expecting specific output formats
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