[BUG]

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?

The spinnerVerbs setting (mode: "replace") in .claude/settings.json is correctly applied when running Claude Code directly in a terminal, but is ignored by the VS Code native extension — the extension's spinner keeps showing the built-in default verbs (Pondering, Percolating, Marinating, ...) instead of the custom ones.

What Should Happen?

The VS Code extension's spinner should honor the same spinnerVerbs setting as the CLI, showing only the custom verbs when mode is "replace".

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. In a project's .claude/settings.json, add:

   {
     "spinnerVerbs": {
       "mode": "replace",
       "verbs": ["Ansibling", "Playbooking", "Teleporting"]
     }
   }

1. Open that project in VS Code (Remote - WSL), with the Claude Code native extension.
2. Start a Claude Code session and send a prompt that triggers the spinner.
3. Observe: the spinner shows default verbs (e.g. "Pondering...", "Marinating...") instead of the custom list.

Troubleshooting already done (no effect on the bug):

• Verified .claude/settings.json is valid JSON and matches the schema exactly
• Confirmed no other settings file overrides it (no .claude/settings.local.json, ~/.claude/settings.json, or managed-settings.json setting spinnerVerbs)
• Fully restarted VS Code
• Fully restarted the WSL instance
• Confirmed: running claude directly in a terminal inside the same WSL instance, same project directory, same settings.json → works correctly, custom verbs are shown.

This isolates the bug to the VS Code extension's spinner rendering specifically (likely a separate UI path/webview not wired to spinnerVerbs), since the underlying CLI logic clearly reads and applies the setting correctly.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.220 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Additional Information

Environment: VS Code connected via Remote - WSL to a WSL2 instance (Linux 5.15.146.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2).