[BUG] spinnerVerbs: local settings cannot suppress project-level verbs

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been resolved
• [x] This is a single bug report

What's Wrong?

spinnerVerbs with mode: \"replace\" in .claude/settings.local.json does not suppress verbs defined in the project-level .claude/settings.json. The verb arrays are concatenated across all settings files — only the mode field is overridden, not the verb list.

This was reported as #34009, which was closed as a duplicate of #23347. However, #23347 was also closed without a fix or any documented workaround. The bug remains fully reproducible.

What Should Happen?

A user-local settings.local.json with mode: \"replace\" should be able to fully override the verb list from a project-level settings.json, allowing individual contributors to opt out of project-wide spinner verbs.

What Actually Happens?

Given:

• .claude/settings.json (project, shared): { \"spinnerVerbs\": { \"mode\": \"append\", \"verbs\": [\"Flattening the Flux store\", ...] } }
• .claude/settings.local.json (gitignored, personal): { \"spinnerVerbs\": { \"mode\": \"replace\", \"verbs\": [\"working\"] } }
• ~/.claude/settings.json (global): { \"spinnerVerbs\": { \"mode\": \"replace\", \"verbs\": [\"working\"] } }

Result: project verbs still appear in the spinner. All three files' verbs arrays are concatenated regardless of mode.

Why the Duplicate Didn't Resolve This

Issue #23347 describes user-level ~/.claude/settings.json being ignored when no project settings define spinnerVerbs. That is a related but distinct failure mode. Neither #23347 nor #34009 received a fix or workaround — both were closed without resolution.

Workaround

There is no per-user workaround. The only option is to remove spinnerVerbs from the shared project settings.json entirely, which requires team coordination and a PR — defeating the purpose of settings.local.json.

Steps to Reproduce

1. In a repo's .claude/settings.json, add spinnerVerbs with mode: \"append\" and several custom verbs
2. In your personal .claude/settings.local.json, add spinnerVerbs with mode: \"replace\" and verbs: [\"working\"]
3. Start a new Claude Code session
4. Observe that project-level verbs still appear in the spinner

Claude Code Version

Latest (confirmed across multiple versions since March 2025)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Additional Context

Related issues: #34009 (closed as dup), #23347 (closed without fix)