where are json files for claude code stored on a mac

On a Mac, the JSON files that Claude Code uses are stored inside your user’s ~/.claude home directory, not in Application Support or anywhere in /Library.

Quick answer: where the JSON files live

The main locations are:

• Global settings & credentials:
  • ~/.claude/settings.json – global config
  • ~/.claude/settings.local.json – local overrides (gitignored)
  • ~/.claude/.credentials.json – auth credentials
• Project & session data:
  • ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-project-path>/<session-id>.jsonl – conversation transcripts (JSONL, line-by-line JSON)
• MCP / desktop configs (if you use them):
  • ~/.claude.json – user-level MCP config (sometimes used in docs)
  • /Users/<you>/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json – only for the Claude Desktop app , not for claude CLI / “Claude Code”

So if you’re asking about Claude Code (the CLI tool), the JSON files are under ~/.claude on macOS.

Detailed breakdown by file type

1. Settings and configuration JSON

These are the files you typically edit to change behavior:

• Global settings :
  ~/.claude/settings.json
  Applies to all projects unless overridden.

• Local (project-specific) settings :
  .claude/settings.json in your project root
  Committed to git; overrides global settings for that project.

• Local-only overrides :
  .claude/settings.local.json or ~/.claude/settings.local.json
  Not committed, used for personal tweaks.

2. Credentials and auth

• Credentials :
  ~/.claude/.credentials.json
  Stores your OAuth / API key auth info so you don’t re-login every time.

3. Conversation transcripts (JSONL)

Claude Code logs every session as a JSONL file (one JSON object per line):

• Location :
  ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-project-path>/<session-id>.jsonl

• What’s inside :
  Each line is an event: user message, assistant response, tool call, tool result, system event.

You can inspect these with:

bash

ls ~/.claude/projects
head ~/.claude/projects/your-project/some-session-id.jsonl

Or with jq/Python if you want to parse them.

4. MCP and “desktop” configs

There are two different products:

• Claude Code (CLI) : uses ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json for MCP configuration.

• Claude Desktop app : uses
  /Users/<you>/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

If you’re running claude in your terminal, you care about the ~/.claude paths, not the Application Support one.

How to quickly find them on your Mac

Run these in Terminal:

bash

# Show the main .claude directory
ls -la ~/.claude

# List all JSON/JSONL files under it
find ~/.claude -type f \( -name "*.json" -o -name "*.jsonl" \)

That will show you:

• ~/.claude/settings.json
• ~/.claude/.credentials.json
• All session JSONL files under ~/.claude/projects/

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.