Claude Settings Scope Diff & Merge Analyzer

Diff managed, user, project, and local settings scopes and compute the effective merged Claude configuration

{
  "effective": {
    "approval.mode": "\"strict\"",
    "mcp.allow": "[\"docs-search\"]",
    "theme": "\"light\""
  },
  "conflicts": [
    {
      "key": "approval.mode",
      "managed": "\"strict\"",
      "user": "\"auto\""
    },
    {
      "key": "mcp.allow",
      "managed": "[\"docs-search\"]",
      "project": "[\"docs-search\",\"release-notes\"]"
    },
    {
      "key": "theme",
      "local": "\"light\"",
      "user": "\"dark\""
    }
  ],
  "lockedByManaged": [
    "approval.mode",
    "mcp.allow"
  ],
  "scopeCounts": {
    "managed": 2,
    "user": 2,
    "project": 1,
    "local": 1
  }
}

Updated October 2, 2026. Provided as is. Check the output before you rely on it in production.

How to use Claude Settings Scope Diff & Merge Analyzer

1

Paste settings scopes as JSON

Include managed, user, project, and local objects as available. Missing scopes are allowed and still produce a valid merge report.
2

Compute effective settings

Click Compute Effective Settings to flatten each scope and resolve precedence into one effective key-value map.
3

Review conflicts and managed locks

Check the conflict list and managed-locked keys to identify where local overrides are being superseded by higher-priority policy.
4

Apply resolved values to baseline config

Use the effective output as the canonical reference when debugging drift or preparing reproducible environment settings.

Questions and answers

What is Claude Settings Scope Diff?

Claude Code reads settings from managed, user, project and local scopes and merges them: managed wins, then local, project and user. Paste the scope objects as JSON and this tool flattens nested keys, computes each effective value, and lists conflicting keys and keys locked by managed policy.

Which settings scopes are supported?

You can include any combination of managed, user, project, and local scope objects. Missing scopes are handled safely so you can still inspect effective values and conflicts.

How does the tool detect managed locks?

Any setting key present in the managed scope is listed as locked, because a managed value overrides local, project and user values. Keys whose values differ between scopes are listed separately as conflicts.

Does Claude Settings Scope Diff store or send my data?

No. The diff and merge logic executes client-side and does not transmit configuration content.

For AI agents: how to call this tool

Machine-readable contract, endpoints and examples. Humans can ignore this section.

Best Path For Builders

Browser workflow

Runs instantly in the browser with private local processing and copy/export-ready output.

Browser Workflow

This tool is optimized for instant in-browser execution with local data handling. Run it here and copy/export the output directly.

/claude-settings-scope-diff/

For automation planning, fetch the canonical contract at /api/tool/claude-settings-scope-diff.json.

Claude Settings Scope Diff & Merge Analyzer