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Config not applied: MCP not imported and environment variables overwritten

Quick fix

cc-switch overwrites wholesale. Extract hand-edited config into 通用配置 (general config), import MCP by hand, and tick the write-general-config option.

Symptom

Section titled “Symptom”
Error output
自己写进去setting.json的其它选项在切换后丢失
English translation

The other options I wrote into setting.json myself are lost after switching

Cause

Section titled “Cause”

cc-switch overwrites wholesale when switching provider rather than merging field by field. Field-level merging was attempted in v3.11.0 and rolled back in v3.11.1 because of state conflicts. By design, the request address and API key belong to the provider, while other shared config — plugins, hooks, MCP — has to travel between providers through the 通用配置 (general config) feature. If you edit settings.json by hand or install a plugin through the Claude marketplace without extracting it into the cc-switch database, that config is overwritten on the next switch or restart. For MCP, older versions only scanned at first install; v3.9.0 added a manual import button. Environment variable config needs the write-general-config override ticked to take effect. Finally, config directories (WSL versus native Windows) do not switch together — only the selected one applies.

Fix

Section titled “Fix”

  1. Open cc-switch, go to the provider edit page, find the 通用配置 (general config) panel, and click 从当前供应商提取 (extract from current provider) to read plugins, hooks, and other shared config into the database.

  2. When creating or switching a provider, keep 写入通用配置 (write general config) ticked — it is on by default — so plugin data and similar survive.

  3. If you use MCP, click the 手动导入 (manual import) button available from v3.9.0 to import your existing MCP config into the database.

  4. If you rely on environment variable config, tick the write-general-config override in cc-switch, or comment out / rename the original config file so it is not overwritten by what cc-switch writes.

Affected Versions

Section titled “Affected Versions”
ToolUnknown
Version3.11.1 - 3.12.2
PlatformsWindowsLinux

Source Issues

Section titled “Source Issues”

This page is distilled from 11 real issues

FAQ

Section titled “FAQ”
Why did my plugin config disappear after switching provider?
Because cc-switch overwrites wholesale by design. Shared config such as plugins has to be extracted into 通用配置 (general config) with 写入通用配置 (write general config) ticked to survive.
Could it merge the JSON rather than replacing it entirely?
Field-level merging was attempted in v3.11.0 and rolled back over state conflicts. The current design is a full overwrite, with no plan to return to field-level merging.
My MCP config does not apply. What now?
Before v3.9.0, MCP was only scanned at first install. Newer versions add a manual import button — click it.
cc-switch overwrites my environment variable config. What now?
Tick the write-general-config override, or comment out / rename the original config file so your environment variables win.
After configuring a WSL directory, does the native Windows directory still apply?
No. By design cc-switch switches only the selected directory, never several at once.
Section titled “Related problems”
settings.json plugins and hooks lost after switching providerThis is cc-switch's full-snapshot overwrite design. Put the fields you need to keep into the shared / general config and tick write-general-config.9 issues mergedConfig lost after switching: Claude Code / Codex / WSL path checkSwitching provider rewrites settings.json. Put hooks/statusLine/enabledPlugins into the shared/general config, not just the local file.15 issues mergedsettings.json overwritten by proxy takeover causing plugin config loss - Claude CodePlace custom fields such as hooks and statusLine into the "General Configuration" panel, or upgrade to v3.12.2+ to fix the legacy backup restore logic.15 issues mergedSwitching with cc-switch has no effect - CodexCodex does not hot-switch. Restart the Codex app completely after switching relay in cc-switch; a migration tool can recover lost sessions.4 issues merged

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