[BUG] .claude/CLAUDE.local.md not being loaded

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Hey Antrophic Claude Code folks!

It seems like .claude/CLAUDE.local.md files is not getting loaded by default

Of course it can get loaded via import (@CLAUDE.local.md) however, normally I'd expect behavior parity between config files placed at repo root and tool specific directory. I'm not sure if it's design choice or a bug.

file placed in .claude/ dir

<img width="907" height="744" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/34802bee-6950-4604-9740-400140d5c020" />

file placed at repo root

<img width="919" height="655" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9ffab017-f946-4fee-a4e8-2a82a8842279" />

What Should Happen?

./claude/CLAUDE.local.md could load

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. create .claude/CLAUDE.local.md
2. $ claude
3. run command /context
4. see this file is not loaded in the context

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.158 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_