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Absolute paths converted to tilde paths, breaking permission matching #16800
Description
Activity
Update: Found the Solution
After more investigation, I found that the permission matching issue is resolved by using double-slash
//for absolute paths:The Fix
{ "permissions": { "allow": [ "Read(//Users/james/**)", "Write(//Users/james/github/**)", "Edit(//Users/james/github/**)" ] } }Why This Works
Format Interpretation /Users/james/**Relative path (from settings file location) //Users/james/**Absolute filesystem path ~/github/**Home directory expansion The single-slash format I was using was being interpreted as a relative path, not an absolute path. This is documented in #6881.
Recommendation
This issue can probably be closed as "not a bug" - the path format was the problem. However, it would be helpful if:
- Claude Code generated
//paths when users accept permission prompts (currently generates single-slash) - The documentation made this clearer
The UI still shows tilde paths (
~/github/...) but permission matching works correctly with//format.- Claude Code generated
Closing - the root cause was using single-slash paths instead of double-slash. Using
//Users/james/**instead of/Users/james/**resolves the permission matching. See my previous comment for details.This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.
- locked as resolved and limited conversation to collaborators
on Jan 16, 2026
Description
When making Read/Write/Edit tool calls with absolute paths (e.g.,
/Users/james/github/...), Claude Code appears to convert them to tilde paths (~/github/...) somewhere in the pipeline. This breaks permission matching when permissions are defined with absolute paths.Steps to Reproduce
~/.claude/settings.jsonwith absolute path permissions:{ "permissions": { "allow": [ "Read(/Users/james/**)", "Write(/Users/james/github/**)", "Edit(/Users/james/github/**)" ] } }Read(/Users/james/**)Expected Behavior
Read(/Users/james/github/file.md)should matchRead(/Users/james/**)permissionActual Behavior
~/...)~/github/file.mddoes not matchRead(/Users/james/**)patternEnvironment
Related Issues
Workaround
Currently none known. Adding both tilde and absolute path versions to permissions doesn't help if the conversion happens after the tool call is made but before permission checking.
Additional Context
This issue manifests alongside the "allow reading from X from this project" prompts, which appear to be a separate project-scoped permission layer. The combination of tilde conversion and project-scoped permissions makes it very difficult to configure Claude Code for autonomous operation without permission prompts.