Take Control: Disable Claude Hooks Auto-Import In Droid CLI

Hey everyone! If you've been working with Factory CLI and Droid, especially alongside Claude Code CLI, you might have hit a snag that's a bit of a head-scratcher. We're talking about the Claude hook auto-import feature in Droid that, while well-intentioned, can sometimes feel like it's taking control out of your hands. This article is all about diving deep into this behavior, understanding why it happens, and most importantly, advocating for a way to manage it better. We want to empower you, our awesome dev community, to truly own your development environment without unexpected surprises. Let's get into how this auto-import works, the challenges it presents, and what we can do to make our tools work for us, not against us. It's time to talk about getting that much-needed control back!

The Droid Dilemma: Understanding Unwanted Claude Hook Auto-Import

Alright, guys, let’s talk turkey about this persistent Claude hook auto-import issue in Droid. It’s a classic case of software trying to be helpful but sometimes overstepping its bounds. Imagine you're meticulously setting up your development environment, precisely defining your hooks, and then poof—Droid decides to helpfully re-import Claude hooks you thought you had under control. This isn't just an annoyance; for serious developers, it's a genuine disruption to workflow integrity and configuration management. The core problem emerges when you're using Factory CLI 0.30.0 on a system like macOS. If you have those standard Claude hooks chilling in ~/.claude/settings.json, Droid has a habit of bringing them back from the dead, even if you’ve manually deleted them from ~/.factory/settings.json and specifically set claudeHooksImported to false. Within mere seconds of starting Droid, your ~/.factory/settings.json file is rewritten, and those Claude hooks are right back where you "didn't" want them, with claudeHooksImported flipped back to true. This observed behavior indicates an aggressive and currently unconfigurable auto-import mechanism.

From a deeper look into the Droid binary, a quick strings scan reveals the culprits behind this behavior. The function dt0() appears to be the primary auto-import trigger. This function checks if claudeHooksImported is already set to true. If it is, it wisely bows out early. However, if that flag is false—which is often the case after you've tried to remove the hooks manually—dt0() springs into action. It calls ut0(), which then calls kV6(). Together, these functions are responsible for reading those Claude hooks from various locations like ~/.claude/settings.json, ./.claude/settings.json, and ./.claude/settings.local.json. After gathering these hooks, kV6() merges them directly into your Factory settings, promptly sets claudeHooksImported: true, and populates importedClaudeHooks. What's particularly challenging here is that this importer completely ignores other potentially useful guards like enableHooks. The only gatekeeper, it seems, is claudeHooksImported, which gets reset so easily. This means that for Droid users who wish to maintain distinct hook configurations—perhaps using file-based hooks exclusively with Claude CLI but relying only on MCP-defined hooks within Droid—there's currently no simple way to prevent this automatic re-import. Deleting the hooks from Factory settings just serves as a temporary reprieve, because the next Droid startup will likely trigger the re-import all over again, making it incredibly frustrating to maintain a clean, custom Droid environment. This loop of re-importation can seriously hinder development efficiency and configuration stability.

Why Current Documentation Falls Short on Claude Hook Control

When we look at the official documentation, specifically the Factory CLI changelog, we find some interesting clues about the genesis of this Claude hook auto-import feature. Back on November 18, 2022, with version v0.26.3, the changelog proudly announced “Claude Code Hooks Auto-Migration: automatically detects and imports hooks from Claude Code CLI with smart translation…”. Now, on the surface, this sounds like a helpful feature, right? It aims to simplify the transition for users moving between Claude Code CLI and Factory CLI, ensuring that existing configurations aren't lost. And for many users, this might indeed be a seamless experience. However, the critical piece of information that is conspicuously absent is any mention of a supported setting or flag to disable this automatic import. This silence in the documentation is where the real frustration for many advanced users begins to brew.

The current setup essentially means that while the feature was designed to assist with migration, it lacks the necessary granularity and control for diverse developer workflows. The assumption seems to be that users will always want their Claude hooks to be merged into Droid's configuration. But as any experienced developer knows, assumptions in software often lead to pain points down the road. Imagine you're a developer who relies heavily on Claude's file-based hooks for specific tasks or perhaps for collaboration within a team that uses Claude CLI directly. At the same time, you might have a very lean, MCP-only (Managed Configuration Profile) setup for Droid, optimized for entirely different purposes or a different phase of development. In this scenario, the constant re-importation of Claude hooks into Droid becomes a serious impediment. You don't want Droid to touch those Claude hooks; you just want it to do its own thing.

The current mechanism, as observed, makes it impossible for Droid users to keep Claude's file-based hooks intact while simultaneously preventing Droid from automatically importing them into its own settings. Deleting the hooks from Droid's ~/.factory/settings.json is a futile exercise, as the claudeHooksImported flag will be reset, triggering the auto-import loop again upon the next Droid startup. This isn't just about personal preference; it impacts team workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and the overall reliability of your development environment. Without a documented or supported way to toggle this auto-import off, users are left with a system that feels less like a flexible tool and more like a dictatorial one. We need the ability to tell Droid, "Hey, thanks for the thought, but I've got this handled." This lack of explicit control directly contradicts the principle of empowering developers to customize their tools, making it harder to manage complex, multi-tool setups effectively and efficiently.

Why Taking Back Control Over Claude Hooks Matters to Your Workflow

Guys, let's be real: in the world of development, control is king. And when it comes to your tools, especially something as fundamental as hook management, losing that control can seriously mess with your flow. The issue of Droid's aggressive Claude hook auto-import isn't just a minor annoyance; it's a critical point for many of us who need precision in our development environments. Imagine you've spent hours crafting a perfectly optimized setup for Droid, perhaps relying solely on MCP-only configurations for consistency across a team or for specific CI/CD integration. Then, every time you fire up Droid, it decides to pull in hooks from Claude CLI that you specifically didn't want there. This isn't just about extra lines in a config file; it's about workflow integrity. Your carefully curated environment suddenly becomes unpredictable, and debugging issues that stem from unexpected hook interactions can waste precious development time.

This constant re-importation directly impacts developer control over their local and shared configurations. For instance, if you're using Claude CLI for local experimentation with a variety of hooks, but Droid is meant to adhere to a strict, production-ready set of configurations, the auto-import forces a merge that might introduce unintended behaviors or security risks. You might have carefully excluded certain sensitive hooks from your Droid environment, only to find them re-imported without your explicit consent. This leads to a frustrating cycle: you delete the unwanted hooks, set claudeHooksImported to false, only for Droid to reset it and re-import everything again. It’s like trying to keep a tidy desk when someone keeps dropping new papers on it every time you turn your back. This kind of configuration drift can be particularly problematic in team environments, where consistency is paramount. If one developer's Droid instance keeps pulling in unapproved Claude hooks, it can lead to "works on my machine" syndrome, creating inconsistencies that are a nightmare to track down.

Furthermore, this automatic behavior limits the flexibility needed for modern development practices. Many developers leverage different tools for different phases or aspects of their work. Having a tool dictate which configurations it will automatically merge, without an opt-out, restricts this modular approach. It means you can't truly separate your Claude CLI workflow from your Droid workflow, even if your project demands that separation. This lack of a simple "off" switch can lead to configuration fatigue, where developers spend more time fighting their tools than actually building innovative solutions. We're not saying the auto-import feature is inherently bad; for some, it might be incredibly helpful. But for those of us who need explicit control, especially when managing complex or sensitive projects, the frustration of unwanted, unstoppable changes is real. Giving developers the agency to enable or disable this feature isn't just a quality-of-life improvement; it's a fundamental aspect of building robust, configurable, and developer-friendly tools.

Empowering Developers: The Call for a Disable Setting

Now that we’ve thoroughly aired out the issues surrounding Droid’s enthusiastic Claude hook auto-import, let’s pivot to the good stuff: solutions. We, as a community, need a way to tell Droid, "Thanks, but no thanks," when it comes to automatically pulling in those Claude hooks. The most straightforward and developer-friendly approach would be to add a supported setting or flag to disable Claude hook auto-import. Imagine a simple line in your ~/.factory/settings.json, something like disableClaudeHookImport: true. This small addition would give us immediate and explicit control, allowing developers to opt out of the auto-import mechanism when it doesn't align with their workflow. This is a common pattern in well-designed software, providing defaults for convenience while offering granular control for advanced users. It allows for the best of both worlds: easy setup for newcomers, and precise configuration for veterans.

Beyond a dedicated disable flag, there are other powerful ways to enhance this control. One excellent suggestion is for Droid to respect the enableHooks setting for imports. Currently, the auto-importer seems to ignore this, focusing solely on the claudeHooksImported flag. If the importer were to check enableHooks as an additional guard, it would integrate more seamlessly with existing configuration paradigms and provide another layer of explicit control. If a user has enableHooks: false within their Droid configuration, it's a strong signal that they don't want any hooks activated, let alone automatically imported ones. This would significantly reduce the friction for developers who want to manage hooks manually or disable them entirely within Droid. It makes logical sense and aligns with the intuitive expectations of how such settings should behave.

Another robust solution would be to expose a CLI flag or environment variable to skip the dt0() function entirely. Think about it: during specific CI/CD runs, automated scripts, or even just quick local tests, you might want to launch Droid without any risk of configuration changes. A flag like --skip-claude-hook-import or an environment variable such as DROID_SKIP_CLAUDE_HOOK_IMPORT=true would provide an incredibly powerful and flexible way to bypass the auto-import logic on demand. This approach is particularly valuable for programmatic control and scripting, ensuring that your automated processes remain pristine and predictable. The benefits of these proposed solutions are multifold: they empower developers with greater configuration flexibility, enhance workflow stability, and prevent unwanted side effects. They move Droid from a "smart" tool that sometimes gets it wrong, to a truly intelligent and configurable tool that respects user intent. Ultimately, providing these options demonstrates a commitment to developer experience and enables a wider range of sophisticated use cases for Factory CLI and Droid.

Building a Better Ecosystem: Community Input and Collaboration

Alright, folks, this isn't just about fixing a minor bug; it's about fostering a more responsive and developer-centric ecosystem for Factory-AI tools. The discussion around disabling Claude hook auto-import is a prime example of how crucial community input is. When we, as users, encounter friction points like this aggressive auto-import feature in Droid, it’s not just a personal headache; it’s an an opportunity for the development team to make the tools even better for everyone. We know the initial intention behind the auto-migration feature was convenience, and we appreciate that effort. However, the lack of an opt-out mechanism shows that even well-meaning features can sometimes create unintended challenges when not paired with sufficient user control. This is where collaboration becomes key. By actively discussing these issues, providing detailed reproduction steps, and suggesting concrete solutions, we’re not just complaining; we’re contributing to the evolution of the software.

The impact of having a clear, documented way to disable this auto-import extends far beyond just one user's preference. Think about the broader implications for the Factory CLI and Droid ecosystem. When developers feel they have full control over their configurations, they are more likely to adopt and integrate these tools into more complex and mission-critical workflows. This leads to increased trust, deeper engagement, and ultimately, a stronger community around the product. A tool that respects a developer's choices, rather than overriding them, is a tool that empowers innovation. Moreover, transparently addressing such feature requests shows that the development team values user feedback and is committed to building robust, flexible solutions. It signals that the Factory-AI team is listening, which is incredibly important for maintaining a vibrant and supportive developer community.

So, what can you do, my fellow developers? Keep the conversation going! Share your experiences, especially if you've encountered similar frustrations with Droid's auto-import. If you have specific use cases where this feature has caused significant headaches or required elaborate workarounds, document them. The more concrete examples the Factory-AI team has, the clearer the picture becomes of the real-world impact. Engage in discussions on forums, GitHub issues, or wherever the Factory-AI community gathers. Your voice matters, and collective feedback is incredibly powerful in driving positive change. By working together, by clearly articulating our needs for greater configurability and control, we can help shape the future of these tools. Let’s encourage the Factory-AI team to implement these proposed solutions, making Droid an even more powerful, predictable, and developer-friendly part of our toolkit. A more configurable Droid benefits us all, fostering an environment where innovation thrives without unnecessary configuration battles.

Wrapping Up: Towards a More Configurable Droid

Phew, we've covered a lot of ground today, diving deep into the nuances of Droid's Claude hook auto-import and the desire for more developer control. It's clear that while the auto-migration feature was introduced with good intentions, its current implementation lacks the crucial ability for users to opt out. This oversight can lead to frustrating configuration overrides, workflow disruptions, and a general feeling of losing control over one's carefully crafted development environment. We've talked about the technical observations, how functions like dt0() and kV6() are at play, and why the claudeHooksImported flag alone isn't enough. We've also highlighted the gap in documentation, which currently offers no recourse for developers seeking to disable this behavior.

The core of our argument boils down to this: developers need explicit control over their tools. Whether it's through a dedicated disableClaudeHookImport setting, respecting the existing enableHooks flag, or providing a command-line option to bypass the import, the goal is the same—to empower you to configure Droid precisely how you need it. This isn't just about convenience; it's about maintaining workflow integrity, ensuring configuration stability, and fostering an environment where different tools can coexist harmoniously without stepping on each other's toes. We believe that by implementing these suggested changes, the Factory-AI team can significantly enhance the developer experience, making Droid an even more robust and adaptable tool for everyone. Let's keep pushing for these improvements, knowing that a more configurable Droid is a better Droid for all of us!