What changed: When ~/.claude.json is found corrupted during a locked save operation, Claude Code now automatically repairs it from the in-memory cached config rather than leaving the file in a corrupted state.
Previously, hitting a parse error on the re-read inside saveConfigWithLock would block the write and leave the file unchanged. Now:
- If a parse error is detected during the locked re-read, the cached in-memory config is used as the recovery source.
- The repair is logged and reported to telemetry (
tengu_config_auto_repaired). - A timestamped
.corrupted.backup is still saved so the original can be inspected. - The error message changed from
"Config file corrupted, resetting to defaults"to"Config file corrupted"and separately"Could not back up corrupted config"for backup failures — more accurate since defaults are no longer the only fallback.
Evidence
Auto-repair path in saveConfigWithLock (search for "saveConfigWithLock: re-read hit a parse error; auto-repairing from cached config under lock. See GH #3117.")
Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.