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Configuring Claude: the settings that change everything

Eighteen settings across Claude.ai, Claude Code, and the API that decide how your Claude behaves and what it costs.

Most people run Claude on defaults and blame the model when output drifts or the bill creeps. This course walks the eighteen settings, across Claude.ai, Claude Code's settings.json, and the API/Console, that actually run your Claude, each as where it lives, what it does, why it matters, and the one-line fix.

Adapted from a public article by @Mnilax (Mnimiy), as of May 2026. Written for people who already use Claude and want to tune it. Setting names, menu paths, prices, and version-specific behaviour change often, and several specifics here are unverified, so confirm against Anthropic's official documentation before relying on any of them.

Start chapter 1 →← All courses5 chapters · 42 min total

Chapters

  1. Chapter 01 · 5 min

    Why your Claude config matters

    “A workshop you never reorganise slowly fills with tools you no longer use, until you can't find the one you need.”

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  2. Chapter 02 · 12 min

    Claude.ai: 8 settings that run your assistant

    “A house assistant who remembers everything is useful, until it starts bringing up your salary in front of guests.”

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  3. Chapter 03 · 11 min

    Claude Code: 7 keys in settings.json

    “Every tool you leave plugged in draws power. A bench with twelve idle machines running is a bench that trips its own breaker.”

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  4. Chapter 04 · 8 min

    API & Console: 3 cost levers

    “Pay to print a page once and photocopy it for a tenth of the cost, or retype it from scratch every time. Caching is the photocopier.”

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  5. Chapter 05 · 6 min

    The 18-point checklist & weekly audit

    “Tools drift out of place the moment you stop putting them back. A quick weekly tidy keeps the bench usable.”

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