Claude Code Config Bloat Audit: Removing Stale Permissions, Plugins, and Skills

Session Date: 2026-01-21
Project: Claude Code Dev Environment
Focus: Configuration file cleanup and consolidation
Session Type: Maintenance

Executive Summary

Audited and cleaned up the ~/.claude/config/ directory, reducing bloat across four configuration files. Removed stale MCP permissions, disabled unused plugins, consolidated overlapping skills, and pruned inactive marketplace registrations.

Impact Summary:

File	Before	After	Reduction
settings.local.json	1.8 KB	303 bytes	83%
settings.json	2.8 KB	2.2 KB	21%
skill-rules.json	14.4 KB	13.8 KB	4%
marketplaces.json	3.6 KB	2.8 KB	23%

Changes Made

1. settings.local.json - Stale MCP Permissions Removed

Removed 21 pre-approved permissions for inactive MCP servers:

Removed:

8 Chrome DevTools MCP permissions (mcp__plugin_chrome-devtools-mcp_*)
11 Playwright MCP permissions (mcp__plugin_compound-engineering_playwright_*)
1 unused skill permission (Skill(scientific-skills:get-available-resources))

Retained:

Bash(*), WebFetch, WebSearch
Active skill permissions: frontend-dev-guidelines, cicd-cross-platform, skill-developer, git:commit, git:commit-and-push

2. settings.json - Unused Plugins Disabled

Removed 11 plugins from awesome-claude-skills that were enabled but unused:

file-organizer
internal-comms
image-enhancer
content-research-writer
developer-growth-analysis
invoice-organizer
competitive-ads-extractor
lead-research-assistant
canvas-design
meeting-insights-analyzer
mcp-builder

Retained: commit-commands@claude-code-plugins (actively used)

3. skill-rules.json - Overlapping Skills Consolidated

Merged 2 pairs of overlapping skills:

bugfix-planner → bug-detective:

Added keywords: bugfix plan, fix plan, reproduce bug, regression, rollback plan
Added patterns: (create|make|write).*?(bugfix|fix).*?plan, (plan|strategy).*?(fix|bugfix|repair), root cause.*?(analysis|investigation)

ui-ux-design-expert → frontend-design:

Added keywords: UI, UX, user interface, user experience, design review, layout, visual hierarchy, usability, interface design, design system
Added patterns: (review|improve|simplify).*?(UI|UX|interface|design|layout), (how|what).*?(design|UX|usability)

Result: 19 skills (was 21)

4. marketplaces.json - Inactive Marketplaces Removed

Removed 3 marketplace registrations that weren’t actively used:

claude-code-marketplace (ananddtyagi)
fradser-dotagent (FradSer/dotclaude)
claude-code-templates (davila7)

Retained: 10 marketplaces including official Anthropic ones

Recommendations for Future Cleanup

Audit remaining marketplaces - Consider removing insforge-official-marketplace and claude-scientific-skills if not actively used
Review skill triggers - Some skills may have overlapping keywords that could be further consolidated
Periodic permission review - Remove MCP permissions when disabling servers

Files Modified

~/.claude/config/
├── marketplaces.json    (3 entries removed)
├── settings.json        (11 plugins disabled)
├── settings.local.json  (21 permissions removed)
└── skill-rules.json     (2 skills consolidated)