fix: skip statusLine in repo settings.json on local install (#2248) (#2277)

Local installs write to .claude/settings.json inside the project, which
takes precedence over the user's global ~/.claude/settings.json. Writing
statusLine here silently clobbers any profile-level statusLine the user
configured. Guard the write with !isGlobal && !forceStatusline; pass
--force-statusline to override.

Closes #2248

Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

bin/install.js

@@ -6271,11 +6271,19 @@ function finishInstall(settingsPath, settings, statuslineCommand, shouldInstallS
   const isCline = runtime === 'cline';
 
   if (shouldInstallStatusline && !isOpencode && !isKilo && !isCodex && !isCopilot && !isCursor && !isWindsurf && !isTrae) {
-    settings.statusLine = {
-      type: 'command',
-      command: statuslineCommand
-    };
-    console.log(`  ${green}✓${reset} Configured statusline`);
+    if (!isGlobal && !forceStatusline) {
+      // Local installs skip statusLine by default: repo settings.json takes precedence over
+      // profile-level settings.json in Claude Code, so writing here would silently clobber
+      // any profile-level statusLine the user has configured (#2248).
+      // Pass --force-statusline to override this guard.
+      console.log(`  ${yellow}⚠${reset} Skipping statusLine for local install (avoids overriding profile-level settings; use --force-statusline to override)`);
+    } else {
+      settings.statusLine = {
+        type: 'command',
+        command: statuslineCommand
+      };
+      console.log(`  ${green}✓${reset} Configured statusline`);
+    }
   }
 
   // Write settings when runtime supports settings.json

tests/bug-2248-local-install-statusline.test.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+/**
+ * Regression test for #2248: local Claude install clobbers profile-level statusLine
+ *
+ * When installing with `--claude --local`, the repo-level `.claude/settings.json`
+ * takes precedence over the user's profile-level `~/.claude/settings.json` in
+ * Claude Code. Writing `statusLine` to repo settings during a local install
+ * silently overrides any profile-level statusLine the user configured.
+ *
+ * Fix: local installs skip writing `statusLine` to settings.json unless
+ * `--force-statusline` is passed.
+ *
+ * Note: `install()` only copies files. `finishInstall()` writes settings.json.
+ * The production code calls both from `installAllRuntimes()`. Tests must mirror
+ * that two-phase pattern.
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+process.env.GSD_TEST_MODE = '1';
+
+const { describe, test, before, beforeEach, afterEach } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+const os = require('os');
+const { execFileSync } = require('child_process');
+
+const INSTALL_SRC = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'bin', 'install.js');
+const BUILD_SCRIPT = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'scripts', 'build-hooks.js');
+const { install, finishInstall } = require(INSTALL_SRC);
+
+// ─── Ensure hooks/dist/ is populated before install tests ────────────────────
+before(() => {
+  execFileSync(process.execPath, [BUILD_SCRIPT], {
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: 'pipe',
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── #2248: local install must NOT write statusLine to repo settings.json ────
+
+describe('#2248: local Claude install does not clobber profile-level statusLine', () => {
+  let tmpDir;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gsd-local-install-2248-'));
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test('local install does not write statusLine to .claude/settings.json', (t) => {
+    const origCwd = process.cwd();
+    t.after(() => { process.chdir(origCwd); });
+    process.chdir(tmpDir);
+
+    // Phase 1: copy files (mirrors installAllRuntimes)
+    const result = install(false, 'claude');
+
+    // Phase 2: configure settings.json (mirrors installAllRuntimes → finalize)
+    // shouldInstallStatusline=true mirrors what handleStatusline picks for a fresh install
+    finishInstall(
+      result.settingsPath,
+      result.settings,
+      result.statuslineCommand,
+      true,   // shouldInstallStatusline
+      'claude',
+      false   // isGlobal=false → local install
+    );
+
+    const settingsPath = path.join(tmpDir, '.claude', 'settings.json');
+    assert.ok(
+      fs.existsSync(settingsPath),
+      '.claude/settings.json must exist after local install'
+    );
+
+    const settings = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf-8'));
+    assert.strictEqual(
+      settings.statusLine,
+      undefined,
+      'Local install must not write statusLine to repo settings.json — it would clobber profile-level settings (#2248)'
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('global install still writes statusLine to settings.json', (t) => {
+    const origCwd = process.cwd();
+    t.after(() => { process.chdir(origCwd); });
+
+    // Global install writes to CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR; point it at our tmpDir
+    const configDir = path.join(tmpDir, '.claude');
+    fs.mkdirSync(configDir, { recursive: true });
+    const origEnv = process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR;
+    process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR = configDir;
+    t.after(() => {
+      if (origEnv === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR;
+      } else {
+        process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR = origEnv;
+      }
+    });
+
+    // Phase 1: copy files
+    const result = install(true, 'claude');
+
+    // Phase 2: configure settings.json
+    finishInstall(
+      result.settingsPath,
+      result.settings,
+      result.statuslineCommand,
+      true,  // shouldInstallStatusline
+      'claude',
+      true   // isGlobal=true
+    );
+
+    const settingsPath = path.join(configDir, 'settings.json');
+    assert.ok(
+      fs.existsSync(settingsPath),
+      '~/.claude/settings.json must exist after global install'
+    );
+
+    const settings = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf-8'));
+    assert.ok(
+      settings.statusLine !== undefined,
+      'Global install should write statusLine to settings.json'
+    );
+  });
+});