Custom Disable Telemetry

Privacy-focused setting that completely disables all Claude Code telemetry collection and data transmission.

When to Use This Setting

Apply this setting when you need to:

• Ensure no usage analytics or telemetry data leaves your development environment for privacy compliance
• Meet organizational security policies that prohibit sending telemetry data to external services
• Work in air-gapped or restricted network environments where outbound telemetry connections would fail Consider alternatives when:
• You want to contribute anonymized usage data to help improve Claude Code
• Your organization requires telemetry for internal compliance monitoring and audit trails

Quick Start

Configuration

Copy
name: custom-disable-telemetry
type: setting
category: telemetry

Example Application

Copy
claude setting:apply custom-disable-telemetry

Example Output

Setting applied. Changes:
- CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY: 0
- OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER: custom
- telemetry_collection: fully disabled
- data_transmission: blocked

Core Concepts

Disable Telemetry Overview

Aspect	Details
Telemetry Flag	CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY set to 0, disabling all default collection
Metrics Exporter	OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER set to custom with no endpoint, effectively a null sink
Privacy Impact	No usage data, session metrics, or interaction analytics transmitted externally
Performance	Marginally reduced overhead from skipping telemetry serialization and transmission
Reversibility	Re-enable anytime by setting CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY back to 1

Disabled Telemetry Architecture

+-------------------+     +---------------------+     +------------------+
| Claude Code       |---->| Telemetry Check     |---->| Collection Skip  |
| runtime events    |     | ENABLE_TELEMETRY=0  |     | no serialization |
| metrics, traces   |     | flag is disabled    |     | no transmission  |
+-------------------+     +---------------------+     +------------------+
                                   |
                                   v
                          +---------------------+
                          | OTEL Exporter       |
                          | set to custom       |
                          | no endpoint = null  |
                          +---------------------+

Configuration

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY	string	"0"	Master switch disabling all telemetry collection
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER	string	"custom"	Overrides default exporter with a null custom target
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER	string	"none"	Explicitly disables OpenTelemetry trace export
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER	string	"none"	Explicitly disables OpenTelemetry log export
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_ANALYTICS	string	"1"	Additional flag disabling any analytics-specific collection

Best Practices

1. Apply at the global level - Set these environment variables in your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc) rather than per-project so telemetry is disabled across all Claude Code sessions regardless of which project you open.
2. Document the policy for your team - If disabling telemetry is an organizational requirement, document it in your team setup guide so all developers apply this setting consistently and no one accidentally re-enables it.
3. Verify with network monitoring - After applying, use a network monitor like Little Snitch or tcpdump to confirm no telemetry connections are being attempted from Claude Code. This provides auditable proof for compliance reviews.
4. Combine with firewall rules - For defense in depth, add firewall rules blocking telemetry endpoints in addition to the application-level disable. This ensures telemetry is blocked even if a future update changes the flag behavior.
5. Review after updates - After updating Claude Code to a new version, verify the telemetry disable setting is still effective. New versions may introduce additional telemetry channels that require separate configuration.

Common Issues

1. Telemetry appears to still be active - Ensure the environment variables are exported, not just set. Use export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=0 in your shell profile and restart your terminal session.
2. Claude Code warns about disabled telemetry - Some versions may display a notice that telemetry is disabled. This is informational and confirms the setting is working correctly. The notice can be suppressed in your Claude Code settings.
3. Setting resets after update - Claude Code updates may reset settings files but should not override environment variables. If you set the flag via environment variables in your shell profile, it persists across updates.