settings.json — Permissions, Hooks, MCP Servers

Key Takeaways

• settings.json enforces a three-tier config cascade — enterprise → user → project — where higher tiers can lock directives that lower tiers cannot override, analogous to policy inheritance in a service mesh control plane.
• Hooks are lifecycle-interception points (pre-tool, post-tool, pre-compact) declared in settings.json; they let teams inject audit logging, secret-scanning, or approval gates without modifying Claude's core behaviour.
• Each MCP server entry in settings.json carries its own explicit permission grant; there is no implicit privilege inheritance from the invoking user — treat each server as a distinct OAuth client with its own scope declaration.
• Memory anchor: settings.json is your config-cascade — enterprise locks at the top, MCP servers get scoped grants, hooks intercept the pipeline — same mental model as a service mesh with per-route policy and sidecar interception.