{"version":"2.1.281","anchor":"a-json-file-passed-to-agents-is-now-protected-like-a-setti","canonical_anchor":"a-json-file-passed-to-agents-is-now-protected-like-a-setti","heading":"A JSON file passed to --agents is now protected like a settings file","tier":null,"area":null,"url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.281\/e\/a-json-file-passed-to-agents-is-now-protected-like-a-setti","release_url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.281","markdown":"### A JSON file passed to --agents is now protected like a settings file\n\nA JSON file passed to --agents is now protected from edits the same way Claude Code's settings files are\n\n**What**\n\n`--agents` is an option you can give when starting Claude Code, and it can point at a JSON file. When it does, Claude Code now records both the path you gave and the file's real location after following any shortcuts (symlinks). Any attempt to edit that file is then treated like an edit to a protected settings file.\n\nWhen Claude Code works out where a settings `.json` file lives, it now also follows symlinks, including for files that do not exist yet.\n\n**Why**\n\nClaude cannot quietly rewrite the file that defines your `--agents` configuration during a session, just as it cannot freely rewrite your settings. Following symlinks means a shortcut pointing at the file does not get around that protection."}