[FEATURE] allow disabling the periodic background git diff refresh in the Code tab
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
- [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)
Problem Statement
Context: The desktop app periodically runs a background git diff -M <ref> (with rename detection) against a comparison branch/commit to power the session's diff/PR panel. On a large repository with significant divergence from that comparison ref, each invocation can be very expensive (long-running, multi-GB memory usage), and if it isn't throttled it can degrade the whole machine's performance and contend with the user's own git operations for .git/index.lock.
Proposed Solution
Request: Add a setting (in Settings → Claude Code, or exposed via the Code tab preferences) to disable this periodic background diff computation entirely - or at minimum, let the user turn off the diff/PR panel's auto-refresh so it only runs on demand (e.g., when the user explicitly opens the diff pane) rather than on a fixed interval.
Why this matters: For very large or deeply-diverged repositories, the automatic refresh is disproportionately expensive relative to its value, and there's currently no way to opt out - the only workaround is manually killing the spawned git.exe processes.
Nice-to-have: If a full on/off toggle isn't feasible, even a configurable refresh interval, or a check that skips starting a new diff run while a previous one for the same ref is still in flight, would help.
Alternative Solutions
_No response_
Priority
Critical - Blocking my work
Feature Category
Configuration and settings
Use Case Example
_No response_
Additional Context
_No response_