Reference

Settings File Paths

Where to place your configuration file on different operating systems

Configuration File Locations

Settings file paths by operating system

macOS Paths

# Main settings file
~/.claude/settings.json

# Alternative location
~/.claude/.config.json

# Debug logs
~/.claude/debug/

# Project-specific settings
/path/to/project/.claude/settings.json

# Custom config directory (optional)
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="/custom/path"
# Then: /custom/path/settings.json

Complete Settings File Example

A full example of settings.json with OpenAI-compatible configuration

~/.claude/settings.json

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-settings.json",
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE": "1",
    "OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_BASE_URL": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
    "OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_KEY": "sk-your-api-key-here",
    "OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_MODEL": "gpt-4o"
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [],
    "deny": []
  },
  "apiKeyHelper": {
    "enabled": false
  }
}

Environment Variable Reference

All relevant environment variables for Claude Code configuration

Variable	Description	Example
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE	Enable OpenAI-compatible mode	1
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_BASE_URL	API base URL	https://api.openai.com/v1
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_KEY	Your API key	sk-...
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_MODEL	Model identifier	gpt-4o
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR	Custom config directory	/custom/path
CLAUDE_CODE_DEBUG_LOGS_DIR	Debug log directory	/path/to/logs
CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE	Enable simple/bare mode	1
CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH	Git Bash path (Windows)	C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe

Claude Code Configuration File Locations

Claude Code stores its configuration in a settings.json file. The location varies by operating system and respects platform-specific conventions.

macOS

On macOS, the configuration is stored in your home directory:

~/.claude/settings.json

This expands to /Users/yourusername/.claude/settings.json. Create the .claudedirectory if it doesn't exist.

Linux

Linux follows the XDG Base Directory Specification when available:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/claude/settings.json

If XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, it defaults to ~/.claude/settings.json.

Windows

On Windows, the configuration is stored in the AppData folder:

%APPDATA%\Claude\settings.json

This typically expands to C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Claude\settings.json.

Creating the Configuration

Use the Configuration Generator to create your settings file, then save it to the appropriate path for your operating system.