Config Files Across Claude Products

Here's a comprehensive breakdown of all configuration files across Claude Chat, Cowork, and Code:

Claude Chat (claude.ai)

Claude Chat doesn't use file-based configuration — everything is stored server-side as account settings.

Surface	Location	Purpose
Profile Preferences	Settings → General → "What preferences should Claude consider?"	Injects your instructions into the system prompt automatically on every conversation — your context is loaded before you type anything.
Style	Settings → Style	Custom writing/tone style presets
Memory	Auto-generated or manually edited via UI	Persistent facts Claude carries across sessions
Project Instructions	Per-project system prompt field	Instructions scoped to a specific Project

None of these are local files — they live in Anthropic's servers and are not directly editable outside the UI.

Claude Cowork (Desktop App)

Cowork adds file-based context on top of Chat's server-side settings:

File/Surface	Location	Purpose
Global Instructions	Settings → Cowork → Edit Global Instructions	Specify your preferred tone, output format, or background on your role. (Server-side)
claude.md	In your connected working folder	Cowork figures out what you changed and writes those preferences here; every time you tell Cowork to remember something, it writes to this file.
memory.md	In your connected working folder	Persistent memory companion to claude.md
Context .md files	Anywhere in your connected folder	User-created context files (about-me, my-voice, my-rules, etc.)

Cowork reads files from your connected folder at session start — so your .md files are your configuration.

Claude Code (CLI)

This is the richest config system. Scopes apply to settings, subagents, MCP servers, plugins, and CLAUDE.md files across user, project, and local levels.

Settings Files (settings.json)

Scope	Location	Shared?
User	~/.claude/settings.json	No — personal, all projects
Project	.claude/settings.json	Yes — committed to git
Local	.claude/settings.local.json	No — gitignored, personal overrides
Managed	System-level (see below)	Yes — IT/org enforced

Managed settings locations:

Platform	Path
macOS (MDM)	com.anthropic.claudecode plist via Jamf/Kandji
macOS (file)	/Library/Application Support/ClaudeCode/managed-settings.json
Linux/WSL	/etc/claude-code/managed-settings.json
Windows (GPO)	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\ClaudeCode
Windows (file)	C:\Program Files\ClaudeCode\managed-settings.json

Drop-in fragment directory at managed-settings.d/ is also supported alongside the main file, merged alphabetically.

Instruction Files (CLAUDE.md)

Scope	Location	Notes
User global	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md	Applies to all projects
Project	CLAUDE.md or .claude/CLAUDE.md in repo root	Committed, shared with team
Local	CLAUDE.local.md in project root	Gitignored, personal

Think of settings.json as "what Claude can do" and CLAUDE.md as "what Claude should know."

MCP Configuration

Scope	Location
User + local	~/.claude.json
Project	.mcp.json (in project root, version-controlled)
Managed	managed-mcp.json (same system directory as managed-settings)

Other Files in ~/.claude/

~/.claude/
├── settings.json          # Global user settings
├── settings.local.json    # Local user settings (not synced)
├── CLAUDE.md              # Global instructions
├── .credentials.json      # API credentials (Linux/Windows only)
├── commands/              # Global custom slash commands
│   ├── review.md
│   └── test.md
├── agents/                # User-scoped subagents
└── projects/              # Session history (JSONL) per project

And ~/.claude.json — OAuth session, user-scoped MCP config, per-project tool trust state.

Priority Order (highest → lowest)

Managed → CLI args → Local → Project → User

Quick Mental Model

Claude Chat   → Server-side only (UI settings + Profile Preferences)
Claude Cowork → Server-side + working-folder .md files
Claude Code   → Full file hierarchy: ~/.claude/ + .claude/ + system paths