Show HN: ccsettings – a tool to simplify and share Claude Code's settings.json

3 months ago 1

A CLI tool for applying Claude Code configuration templates on a per-project basis. It allows developers to apply standardized configuration templates to their project's .claude/settings.json file and achieves intelligent merging with existing settings.

# Apply casual template to .claude/settings.json npx ccsettings apply --template casual # Apply casual template to .claude/settings.local.json npx ccsettings apply --template casual --local # Apply local template npx ccsettings apply --file /path/to/my-settings.json # Apply template from GitHub URL npx ccsettings apply --url https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/my-settings.json

🎯 4 Built-in Templates: casual, strict, node,etc.
🔗 Multiple Configuration Sources: Built-in, local files, URLs (GitHub support)
🧠 Smart Merge: Integrates templates while preserving existing settings
🔍 Preview Function: Preview changes with dry-run before applying
💾 Backup Function: Automatically saves settings before changes
🌐 User-friendly Interface: Clear and intuitive messages

npm install -g ccsettings # or pnpm add -g ccsettings # or yarn global add ccsettings

1. Check Available Templates

2. Apply Template (Dry Run)

ccsettings apply --template casual --dry-run

ccsettings apply --template strict

Apply a template to the current project.

ccsettings apply [options]

-t, --template <name> - Specify built-in template
-f, --file <path> - Load template from local file
-u, --url <url> - Fetch template from URL
--dry-run - Show preview only without making actual changes
--backup - Backup settings before changes
--force - Apply changes without confirmation

# Apply default template ccsettings apply # Apply strict template ccsettings apply --template strict # Apply template from local file ccsettings apply --file ./my-template.json # Apply template from GitHub URL ccsettings apply --url https://github.com/user/repo/blob/main/template.json # Force apply with backup ccsettings apply --template strict --backup --force # Preview changes with dry run ccsettings apply --template strict --dry-run

List available built-in templates.

Display current project settings.

Custom templates can be created in the following JSON format:

{ "name": "my-template", "description": "Description of custom template", "settings": { "permissions": { "allow": [ "Read(src/**)", "Edit(src/**)", "Bash(npm run test)" ], "deny": [ "Bash(rm -rf *)", "Write(/etc/**)" ], "defaultMode": "acceptEdits" }, } }

ccsettings merges existing settings with templates using the following strategy:

Existing Settings Priority: Existing setting values are preserved
Array Merge: Arrays like allow and deny are combined with duplicates removed
Deep Merge: Nested objects are recursively merged
New Additions: Items present in template but not in existing settings are added

Existing settings:

{ "permissions": { "allow": ["Read(src/**)"], "defaultMode": "acceptEdits" } }

Template:

{ "permissions": { "allow": ["Read(src/**)", "Edit(src/**)"], "deny": ["Bash(rm -rf *)"], "defaultMode": "default" } }

Merge result:

{ "permissions": { "allow": ["Read(src/**)", "Edit(src/**)"], "deny": ["Bash(rm -rf *)"], "defaultMode": "acceptEdits" } }

Template files on GitHub are automatically converted to raw file URLs:

# Regular GitHub URLs like this... ccsettings apply --url https://github.com/user/repo/blob/main/template.json # Are automatically converted to raw URLs # https://raw.githubusercontent.com/user/repo/main/template.json