claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [DOCS] Settings docs missing `wslInheritsWindowsSettings` policy for WSL [1 participants]

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings

Section/Topic

Managed settings configuration scopes and WSL policy behavior

Current Documentation

The docs currently say:

MDM/OS-level policies: delivered through native device management on macOS and Windows:

• macOS: com.anthropic.claudecode managed preferences domain (deployed via configuration profiles in Jamf, Iru (Kandji), or other MDM tools)
• Windows: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\ClaudeCode registry key with a Settings value (REG_SZ or REG_EXPAND_SZ) containing JSON (deployed via Group Policy or Intune)
• Windows (user-level): HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\ClaudeCode (lowest policy priority, only used when no admin-level source exists)

File-based: managed-settings.json and managed-mcp.json deployed to system directories:

• macOS: /Library/Application Support/ClaudeCode/
• Linux and WSL: /etc/claude-code/
• Windows: C:\Program Files\ClaudeCode\

And the server-managed settings page says:

Claude Code supports two approaches for centralized configuration. Server-managed settings deliver configuration from Anthropic's servers. Endpoint-managed settings are deployed directly to devices through native OS policies (macOS managed preferences, Windows registry) or managed settings files.

No documentation currently exists for wslInheritsWindowsSettings or for WSL inheriting Windows-side managed settings.

What's Wrong or Missing?

Changelog v2.1.118 added: "WSL on Windows can now inherit Windows-side managed settings via the wslInheritsWindowsSettings policy key".

The current docs explain Windows-managed settings and WSL/Linux-managed settings as separate delivery paths, but they do not document that WSL can inherit Windows-side managed settings or how administrators should use the wslInheritsWindowsSettings key.

That leaves a gap for enterprise deployments that manage Claude Code through Windows policy but run the CLI inside WSL.

Suggested Improvement

Add a short subsection to the managed settings documentation that:

• Introduces wslInheritsWindowsSettings as a managed policy key
• Explains that WSL sessions on Windows can inherit Windows-side managed settings when this key is enabled
• Clarifies how this interacts with the existing WSL/Linux path at /etc/claude-code/ and Windows registry/file-based policy sources
• Includes one concrete admin example showing where to set the key in Windows-managed policy JSON

The same change should also be cross-referenced from the managed settings section in the permissions docs.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

Total scope: 3 pages affected

Source: Changelog v2.1.118

Exact changelog entry: WSL on Windows can now inherit Windows-side managed settings via the wslInheritsWindowsSettings policy key