Portable Config Baseline Pattern
When managing config files across multiple machines, separate portable baseline settings (safe everywhere) from machine-specific wiring (hooks, plugins, local paths). Use a template file (e.g., config/agents/claude/settings.json) as the canonical portable baseline, then layer machine-specific overrides in the live config. Verify separation by grepping for actual execution paths—only comments and diagnostic messages should reference machine-specific tools; all real calls use portable resolution patterns like command -v python3 || command -v python.