Config Studio for Claude Code covers a lot: 20 surfaces, 21 checks you can try, and a reference for each file. This lesson is the map. Once you know the four views and what the badges mean, every later lesson is just a new surface.
Know the four views
The tabs at the top of Config Studio for Claude Code switch between four views:
| View | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Configure | Where you set things, one surface at a time |
| Changes | Everything you set, and every file it will write |
| Try it | Checks that answer questions about your setup, like "would this be allowed?" |
| Reference | What each surface is, in full, on a page of its own |
Most of your time is in Configure. You visit Changes at the end, and Try it whenever something does not behave the way you expected.
Use the rail of surfaces
On the left of Configure is the rail: every surface Claude Code reads, 20 in all. Among them:
- Permissions, Settings and Memory (CLAUDE.md)
- Status line and Hooks
- Agents, Skills, Commands and Output styles
- MCP servers, and Write an MCP server
- Plugins and marketplaces, Keybindings, Sandbox
- Headless runs, Scheduled runs, Sessions and transcripts, Environment and telemetry
- Two for administrators: Managed policy and MCP allowlist
Click a surface to edit it. The switch at the top of the rail shows either all Surfaces or only the ones you Changed, which is handy once you have set up a few.
Understand the plan
Editing a surface does not yet put it in your plan. Each surface has an Include box in the rail: tick it and what you set there becomes part of what you take away. The bar at the top counts the changes, the surfaces and the files to write.
This two-step design lets you explore freely. Change anything to see what it does, and only include what you want.
Read a surface from top to bottom
Every surface has the same shape:
- The title, what the surface is, and what you set here
- Where it lives: every file this surface can be in, highest precedence first
- The controls, each with a plain explanation, and presets you can add in one click
- On the right, the exact file your choices produce
The file on the right updates as you type, and shows whether it would be merged into an existing file or written fresh.
Know what the badges mean
Next to facts in the studio are small badges that say where the fact comes from:
| Badge | Where the fact comes from |
|---|---|
| from the binary | Read out of the installed Claude Code program itself |
| observed | Seen while running Claude Code |
| documented | Taken from the documentation, with a date |
| reasoned | Reasoned, not verified. Treat it with care |
Hover a badge for the details.
When a setting matters (a permission mode, a precedence order), check its badge. An observed fact is one the studio saw Claude Code actually do.
Keep your work
Your work stays in this browser while you use it. In the bar at the top, Save this plan downloads your choices as a JSON file, and Load a plan reads one back in, on this or another computer, or from a colleague. Start over clears everything you set and everything the page saved in this browser; click it twice to confirm.
The next lesson shows three ways to start faster than a blank page: your machine, an existing setup and the starter packs.