SettingsMaintenance

Audit and clean AI coding tool settings files. Covers permission entries, plugin configuration, hook wiring, and cross-layer conflicts.

Settings Architecture

AI coding tools layer settings across multiple files. Claude Code uses 4 files with inheritance:

Precedence (highest wins): project local > project shared > global local > global shared.

At the global level, both files are personal — the settings.json / settings.local.json split is redundant. The local file is designed for project-level use where settings.json is committed and settings.local.json holds personal overrides.

Workflow Routing

Common Procedure

All subskills follow this 6-phase workflow:

1. Scope — Determine which settings layers to audit. Default: all 4 files that exist. User can narrow to "just global" or "just project".
2. Inventory — Read each file. Count entries by category. Present a summary table with totals.
3. Audit — Run the subskill's checks against the inventory. Collect findings.
4. Report — Present findings grouped by category. Each finding: ID, category, severity (remove/consolidate/flag), entry, reason.
5. Apply — On user approval, edit files. Apply changes per-category so user can approve/reject each group independently. Use targeted Edit tool calls for reviewable diffs.
6. Verify — jq . <file> > /dev/null for JSON validity. Count before/after entries. Spot-check that critical tools remain permitted.

Cross-Layer Checks

Run these regardless of which subskill is active: