Newly created ~/.claude/settings.json is ignored until restart — permission rules silently inert
If ~/.claude/settings.json does not exist when a session starts, creating it mid-session has no effect: the settings watcher only watches directories that already had a settings file at startup. Practical impact: the agent writes permission allow rules at the user's request, both believe prompts will stop, and the user sits through dozens more permission prompts until someone realizes a full restart is required to load the file.
Requests:
- Watch for settings-file creation, not only modification.
- Failing that, surface explicit feedback when a settings file appears mid-session ("settings file created — restart or open /hooks to load").
Environment: macOS 26.5 (arm64), Claude Desktop 1.9659.2 with bundled Claude Code; GitHub integration connected.
Related settings-loading issues, not duplicates: #58443 (symlinked settings.json regression), #64699 (hooks stop firing after editing settings.local.json) — this issue is specifically the file-creation case: a settings.json born mid-session is never watched.
3 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
Closing as duplicate of #65953 (mid-session settings.json changes not enforced until restart) and the #62656 reload feature request. The file-creation-specific datapoint is posted on #65953.
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