List and switch output styles

Change your output style

Pick a style with the command, a menu, or a settings file. The command and both menus save your choice to .claude/settings.local.json at the local project level.

• /output-style command: run /output-style <style> to switch, for example /output-style concise. With no argument, the command lists the styles you can pick and marks the current one.

  The command also works in non-interactive mode and Agent SDK sessions, and from the mobile app or web via Remote Control, where you can list and select only built-in styles. Requires Claude Code v2.1.269 or later.

• Terminal menu: run /config and select Output style to pick a style from a menu.

• VS Code extension: open the command menu with / and select Output styles to pick a style, including your custom styles. Requires Claude Code v2.1.257 or later.

• Desktop app: set the outputStyle field in a settings file, for example .claude/settings.local.json, the file the terminal menu writes. When you run /config there, Claude Code opens Settings > Claude Code rather than a menu.

To set a style without the menu, edit the outputStyle field directly in a settings file:

{
  "outputStyle": "Explanatory"
}

The value is case-sensitive, so write the built-in names as Proactive, Concise, Explanatory, and Learning. A value that doesn't match a style name exactly, such as explanatory, gives you the Default style. The /output-style command ignores case.

To make a style your default across projects, set outputStyle in ~/.claude/settings.json. A project's own settings files take precedence over that value.

When you switch styles mid-session, Claude uses the new style starting with your next message. For what that first message costs in prompt caching, see Changing output style. Before v2.1.251, the new style applied only after you ran /clear or started a new session.