Claude Desktop Code Tab Not Loading ~/.claude/settings.json Configuration

Expected Behavior

When ~/.claude/settings.json is configured with ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS environment variables, Claude Code should use those settings after application restart.

Actual Behavior

API requests from Claude Code continue routing directly to Anthropic API, bypassing the configured gateway. Gateway logs show zero requests from Claude Desktop despite correct configuration.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create ~/.claude/settings.json with:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://bifrost.buildertrend.com/anthropic",
    "ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS": "x-bf-vk: sk-bf-..."
  }
}

1. Completely close Claude Desktop (quit from menu)
2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Check gateway logs — requests do not appear

Verification Checklist

• [x] Settings file exists and is readable
• [x] JSON syntax is valid
• [x] No conflicting settings.local.json
• [x] Application restarted after config
• [x] Gateway logs confirm requests are NOT routed through configured gateway

Environment

• OS: macOS
• Settings file location: ~/.claude/settings.json
• Issue: Claude Code harness is not loading or applying environment variables from settings.json