What probably matters to youSection of the release
What
A new environment variable, CLAUDE_CODE_RESTRICT_PERSONAL_CONFIG, turns on a stricter check of your user settings file (your personal Claude Code settings). An environment variable is a named value set in the shell before Claude Code starts.
When the session starts with it set, Claude Code reads your user settings file. If the file has errors, or its hooks or permission rules have errors, Claude Code blocks every prompt and every tool call (an action Claude wants to take, such as running a command or editing a file) for the whole session. A blocked tool call gives the reason "A problem in your user settings file is blocking tool calls".
Hooks are actions you configure to run automatically at set points. With this check on, these hooks are rejected unless they are command hooks or http hooks:
The session fails closed, meaning it stops rather than carrying on. A broken personal settings file therefore cannot quietly drop deny rules or hooks that an organisation relies on in a managed or restricted setup.
