Unclear It is not confirmed that Claude Code ignores the setting in project and local settings, rather than only its description saying so.
What
axScreenReader is the setting for screen reader mode, which renders output that works better with screen readers. It is now only read from trusted settings sources and is ignored in project and local settings (the settings files that live inside a code folder). The setting's description now says "Ignored in project and local settings."
- If a project or local settings file asks for screen reader mode but it stays off, a message says: "Screen reader mode is off: project settings can't turn it on."
- The message tells you to start Claude Code with
--ax-screen-readeror set the option in your user settings file. - An extra check was added alongside this; nothing has been read about its state.
CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READERandINK_SCREEN_READERwere added to a list of environment variable names, for a purpose not identified.
Why
A folder you clone can no longer switch your display into screen reader mode, and you are told why. If you relied on a project settings file to turn it on, move the setting to your user settings or use --ax-screen-reader.
The entry above is what we published on the day. These lines were added later, as Anthropic's own pages caught up, and they sit beside the original rather than replacing it.
* Changed the `axScreenReader` setting and `CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER` in a settings `env` block to apply only from user, managed or `--settings` settings (since 2.1.305)changelog see the edit
* Changed the `axScreenReader` setting and `CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER` in a settings `env` block to apply only from user, managed or `--settings` settings (since 2.1.305)changelog see the edit
It is not confirmed that Claude Code ignores the setting in project and local settings, rather than only its description saying so.
Anthropic's documentation has since written up axScreenReader, on Claude Code changelog.