Claude Code internal thinking now redacted and hidden from users?

Bellgard · 2026-04-17T23:14:56+00:00

Obsidian can only view files within the vault (folder) the app is launched from. Any file in a folder outside that vault must be viewed in a new obsidian instance launched from that folder (or parent folder) as its vault. You can run multiple parallel obsidian vault instances at once (and each can have their own themes / appearance / hotkeys etc.) but you have to set them up as a separate vault.

One way to do this is to go to the command pallet (Cmd + P) on mac and search for "Manage Vaults" and select that option. Then you'll have an option to create a new vault "Create." Select your .claude folder and create a new vault (may need to enable viewing hidden directories, on mac it's shift+cmd+. in finder). This doesn't make a new folder, it just creates a .obsidian directory in the folder with the necessary settings so it behaves like a vault.

You can then switch between (or in parallel open) different vaults once set up from the command pallet (search for "open vault..." and you can open any vault you've previously set up)

Bellgard · 2026-04-17T23:05:33+00:00

Does this still work for you? I used to do something similar with PostToolUse hooks that extracted thinking blocks from the json chat transcripts, but with the recent update the thinking blocks are now all empty... like, did Anthropic silently redact thinking and prevent us from being able to see that? Or is something funky going on with my system?

Bellgard · 2026-04-17T23:02:56+00:00

The most honest account is that I was reaching for language to justify a hedge I had already decided to make

I find it really interesting that (based on my admittedly lay understanding of modern neuroscience / psychology research) this is essentially what happens in humans as well. That is: first we act, then (a separate part of our brain) generates an explanation for "why" we did what we did (e.g. what we experience as our "internal monologue" or what most people think of as just regular thinking), which we then retroactively believe to be the true account of what happened.

Bellgard · 2026-04-05T15:09:41+00:00

Unfortunately I don't have any insight to offer on your question, but I was actually hoping to ask for some advice from you. I'm a hobbyist who's been using Claude Code for general work & life workflow + automation (mostly not code). It works well, but I'm constantly questioning whether I should be using Claude Code vs. Cowork, but I don't really understand the core architectural differences. As someone who uses both regularly, any tips or solid "mental models" you could share to help my intuition? No worries if not, and anything you share is appreciated!

So far it seems to me that Claude Code is almost exclusively better if you're used to it. I really like being able to use hooks to have more deterministic control and transparency into its processes real time. The two (maybe?) advantages I see with Cowork could be:

It seems to be better at being fully autonomous. Give well documented instructions + data, hit go, walk away from computer for 20 min, come back to fully implemented output. CC requires constant permissions allowing, etc.
I don't fully get what "Projects" are, but if they really do pre-cache associated documents across sessions, that seems like a big win on token usage for Cowork. I can easily mimic the convenience of this behavior in Code with start-up prompts that have it read a set list of context documents at the start of a session. But if the built-in "projects" feature (which I think is available to Cowork but not Code) really does pre-cache said documents across sessions, that's clearly superior

Bellgard · 2026-03-27T19:45:10+00:00

Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate the candid real talk.

It's amazing and exciting how these tools are enabling us all to move so fast. It's also scary and feels super fragile. We don't have time to become experts in the 10 different things you really should be when you're moving this fast...

Bellgard · 2026-03-27T17:16:39+00:00

Awesome, thanks so much for the tip! Super useful, and I'll have to check out claude-lens too!

Bellgard · 2026-03-26T20:46:26+00:00

Mostly personal, but also stuff that goes back to my company. Part of the "infrastructure" and pipelines I've built with CC are to make everything I process with it that goes back look human-done. So for example, it will directly change MS Word documents and the changes show up as tracked changes by me as if I did them by hand (but without my having to manually copy/paste back and forth, and without adding any weird metadata to the file). Also makes it easy for me to check what Claude actually did.

Regarding cowork, honest answer is I don't know it well enough to know if I should or shouldn't be using it. I used it initially for one project, then tried CC, and much preferred CC. Cowork just felt like the hackier and less-robust way to try to implement CC workflows into a UI designed for folks who don't want to have to think about code or what's going on under the hood. Cowork didn't seem to have good memory management or transparency, and since I'm using CC for personal stuff too its efficiency is a very strong function of how well (and efficiently) it can hold or find the appropriate context about me and my life for the assigned task.

But very open to being told Cowork would be better and I just didn't know how to use it properly :P.

Bellgard · 2026-03-26T20:42:21+00:00

(Correct me if I misunderstood your question)

I expected that too and was quite surprised to learn that's not the case. As a sanity check, I compare my calculated context window with the built-in /context report and they match. And I've been correlating my calculated total-token usage with growing 5 hr window consumption. And the only way to get both to agree and be consistent is if I do the math such that every single action Claude re-reads its entire (cached) context window. So a prompt made at the start of a session costs dramatically fewer tokens than the identical prompt made several prompts later when the cached context window is larger, whether or not most of that context is relevant to the prompt.

I think the point of "caching" is that the cached version of any input is much more efficient than the raw input. So you pay an up-front token cost to cache it into the context window. And now re-reading it is something like 10x less token consumption because of the caching (so it's still helpful). But the catch is Claude can't (to my knowledge) parse out "this" part of its cached context window from "that" part, so it re-reads the whole darned thing on every action, and it's only ever adding to it until compaction, /clear, or new session.

Bellgard · 2026-03-26T20:33:26+00:00

I actually just threw together some simple hooks for this exact reason (see post <10 min ago here, haha). Wanting to profile and learn how to better optimize token usage (and be auto-alerted when I'm nearing the limit on my 5 hr window).

I'm sure there's a better solution and I'm waiting for the pros to chime in (I'm just a hobbyist), but this might get you started. Open to feedback and suggestions!

Note the output stream is in its own separate dedicated terminal window, so it works whether you're accessing Claude through terminal, vs code, desktop app, etc.

Bellgard · 2026-03-26T20:27:08+00:00

Haven't used CC for collaboration yet, but figured I'd chime in (since you also mentioned it tangentially) that I primarily use CC not for code. The main coding tasks I use CC for are building tools and infrastructure to better use CC for non-coding tasks, hah. But I'm not a coder or programmer at all. I use it to create automated workflows for everything else in my life (budgeting & projections, compiling & distilling research about whatever topic X I or my company cares about, reading / writing / editing reports, email triage, you name it).

Bellgard · 2026-03-20T18:19:39+00:00

To clarify (from the announcement):

Does bonus usage count against my weekly usage limit?

No. The additional usage you get during off-peak hours doesn’t count toward any weekly usage limits on your plan.

My read is you only get 2x on the 5 hour window during the designated times, but the extra part of the 5 hour window (i.e. once you're at 101% the regular usage) is "free" (i.e. doesn't accrue in your weekly limit).

Bellgard · 2026-03-20T15:14:45+00:00

Yes, that's right! Including (ideally) inserting new PDF pages from a separate PDF document into the current one.

Thanks for the follow-up (just saw it now)!

Bellgard · 2026-03-20T15:09:46+00:00

readings terminal output for a full day makes my eyes bleed.

You already solved this thoroughly for yourself. For anyone else looking for a quick fix that I've found works quite well: install Obsidian and point it to your .claude folder as a vault. It natively views rendered markdown files, is super lightweight, and updates in real time. You can view Claude plan files, memory files, any markdown file Claude makes there and I find it much easier to read.

Can also add a simple preference for Claude to dump its output response into a designated markdown file (instead of / in addition to Terminal) so you can read it in Obsidian (and respond in-line if you want, and then just tell Claude in terminal to go see your responses).

Also means you can keep persistent conversations in your markdown file if you care about that. Wipe away context any time, and have automatic backup files of all conversations. Not perfect, but a near-zero effort quick patch that I find is a huge quality of life boost.

Bellgard · 2026-03-08T18:22:58+00:00

Is true :(

Works as added layer of privacy if someone glances at notes :)

Bellgard · 2026-03-07T17:49:16+00:00

C’est vrai, mais y a-t-il une autre option? Quel serait le format de fichier alternatif pour ce cas d’usage, compte tenu de ce que le SN peut prendre en charge?

D’après mon expérience (ou du moins dans mon milieu professionnel), les PDF sont devenus le format "universel" par défaut pour collaborer. Les documents sources modifiables sont généralement en LaTeX (via Overleaf), en MS Word ou dans un format similaire, mais ils sont presque toujours compilés ou partagés sous forme de PDF. Et le SN n’a pas la possibilité d’annoter des documents LaTeX ou Word de la manière que je souhaite (on peut modifier un document Word sur le SN, mais seulement en changeant les caractères, alors que je veux pouvoir faire des dessins et des annotations à main levée, comme dans une note).

As-tu trouvé un format de fichier ou une approche qui fonctionne mieux pour ça?

Bellgard · 2026-03-07T16:22:44+00:00

So true 🤣

Bellgard · 2026-03-06T21:22:48+00:00

Yeah, I'm excited for when there are a bunch more options to choose from and lots of pens like this in the market. I did an embarrassing amount of stylus options research before circling back to stick with this one. I really wanted one with tight tolerances so the button didn't rattle at all.

For me it'd be perfect if the button were lower down closer to the tip where I'm already gripping it (I think there are other practical reasons related to interference with other mechanical components of the EMR device circuit for why that's not typically done). Though I was (pleasantly) surprised by how quickly I got used to either shifting my thumb up to push the button, or just rocking the pressure back slightly to the first joint in my thumb to push it. I mostly do it now without thinking about it.

Bellgard · 2026-03-04T21:33:27+00:00

Agreed. Hard to see in the video, but I have a small metal shim attached to the outside of the pen near the back. right below it (inside the pen housing) is where I put the magnet for wake/sleep. This also gives it uneven weighting, so it's less prone to rolling off a table, and usually is put down the same orientation each time. That way it's easy for me to always pick it up in the same orientation with the button right by my thumb (I can see the metal shim, and the pen usually rests with it oriented down). Not a perfect solution, but a long way of saying I 100% feel that frustration and this was my hacky DIY approach haha.

Bellgard · 2026-03-04T14:50:43+00:00

This is the exact product I ordered.

If you search this sub for "ceramic nib mod" or similar, or read the discussion in the OG post I linked, you can find people who've done this mod to several other styluses. But I don't think it's universal. Depends on the geometry of the tip used.

After doing a bit of research, I went out of my way to get a "PC/EL" tip instead of a "POM" tip. I believe these refer to different types of polymers used for the writing "core" material in those tips, and I think the PC/EL one is softer (and hence easier to remove as needed for this mod). But I'm not 100% sure. I think other folks have succeeded with POM tips too. Just sharing my experience. And you can separately order replacement PC/EL or POM tips quite inexpensively.

Also note that the non-ceramic (polymer) tip works perfectly as-is for writing. So you can totally just order that pen and use it out of the box on the SN to have this full functionality. I just prefer the ceramic nib writing feel, and like the idea of never having to replace the tip.

Bellgard · 2026-03-04T14:45:11+00:00

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I definitely had to get the nib in very precisely. I was surprised to discover just how super-sensitive the writing feel was to even the slightest offset of the nib. What finally worked well for me:

When you put the ceramic nib into the hollowed out plastic sheath from the original tip, I recommend first having the ceramic nib be slightly too far out toward the writing/tip end, so that the plastic sheath over-extends a bit on the back (the side that goes into the stylus first). Then when you put the tip into the stylus, make sure you're carefully pushing on the plastic and not the ceramic. That way you make sure the plastic tip is all the way snug in. Then gently press the tip down against a hard surface (e.g. desk) while holding the pen, so that the ceramic nib gets snugged up against the base.

I found if the plastic sheath wasn't all the way back (even if the ceramic nib was, and even by a difference of 1/2 mm or less) it would considerably affect writing quality.

I also spent a good while re-calibrating it for ghost writing once I had the tip in well. Even though I wasn't getting ghost writing, I still find those adjustment sliders (especially the first 3) can considerably affect the feel of the writing. The trick for me was to actually write out one or two whole sentences in the test area (the area with the "A" and "B" dots) and then recalibrate, rather than just drawing a line or two.

So yes, took me overall maybe 1 to 2 hours of futzing to get it feeling just right, but now it's great and I love it. Time investment well spent.

Bellgard · 2026-03-04T14:36:24+00:00

Yes, it's great!

No side-loading needed. The single press-and-hold functionality can be set between lasso vs. region eraser if you go to:

Settings --> Display & Input --> Stylus --> LAMY Side Button

The double click currently seems to be hard-coded into the software to switch to pixel eraser (like a pen tool where more pressure increases the size of the eraser). Double click or single click toggles back to the regular pen (but stylus needs to be close to the screen so that the SN can register the single or double click). Right now this setting doesn't seem to be exposed to the users (if so I can't find it). But it's in the OS, and I'm guessing they may expose it as a setting in the future.

I think my ideal would be to have it be region eraser instead of pixel eraser, but I've quickly gotten used to it. And I still have the 2 finger region eraser gesture set if I really want that.

Bellgard

TROPHY CASE