52 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
name: output-styles
|
|
description: Understanding output styles in Claude Code (deprecated feature). Use when user asks about customizing Claude's behavior, output styles, or explanatory/learning modes.
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Claude Code Output Styles
|
|
|
|
## Deprecation Status
|
|
Output styles are **deprecated** as of November 5, 2025. The feature has been automatically converted to plugins and is no longer supported.
|
|
|
|
## What Output Styles Were
|
|
|
|
Output styles allowed customization of Claude Code's behavior beyond software engineering tasks. They directly modified the system prompt while preserving core capabilities like file operations and script execution.
|
|
|
|
## Built-in Styles (Deprecated)
|
|
|
|
**Default**: Standard software engineering assistance
|
|
|
|
**Explanatory**: Provides educational 'Insights' in between helping you complete software engineering tasks
|
|
|
|
**Learning**: Collaborative mode where Claude shares insights and requests user contributions, marked with `TODO(human)` comments
|
|
|
|
## How They Worked
|
|
|
|
Output styles excluded default code generation instructions and substituted custom system prompt guidance instead. This differed from `CLAUDE.md` or `--append-system-prompt`, which only appended context rather than replacing the base prompt.
|
|
|
|
## Migration Path
|
|
|
|
Users should transition to:
|
|
|
|
1. **SessionStart hooks** - for adding context at session start via plugin-based automation
|
|
2. **Subagents** - for specialized AI assistants with custom system prompts and specific tool permissions
|
|
3. **Plugins** - the primary replacement, with more powerful and flexible ways to customize Claude Code's behavior
|
|
|
|
## Installation Example
|
|
|
|
The explanatory output style is available as a plugin:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-code
|
|
/plugin install explanatory-output-style@claude-code-plugins
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Recommended Alternatives
|
|
|
|
For customizing Claude Code's behavior, use:
|
|
- **Plugins** for distributable, reusable customizations
|
|
- **Subagents** for task-specific specialized assistants
|
|
- **SessionStart hooks** for session initialization context
|
|
- **CLAUDE.md** for project-specific context
|
|
- `--append-system-prompt` for session-specific instructions
|