diff --git a/src/web/public/app.js b/src/web/public/app.js
index 7592d311..4952d29d 100644
--- a/src/web/public/app.js
+++ b/src/web/public/app.js
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ class ClaudemanApp {
       `;
     }
 
-    // Add the "+" button
+    // Add the "+" button at the end of session tabs
     html += `
       <div class="session-tab new-tab" onclick="app.createNewSession()" title="New Session (Ctrl+N)">
         <span>+</span>
@@ -1298,6 +1298,74 @@ class ClaudemanApp {
     });
   }
 
+  // ========== App Settings Modal ==========
+
+  openAppSettings() {
+    // Load current settings
+    const settings = this.loadAppSettingsFromStorage();
+    document.getElementById('appSettingsClaudeMdPath').value = settings.defaultClaudeMdPath || '';
+    document.getElementById('appSettingsDefaultDir').value = settings.defaultWorkingDir || '';
+    document.getElementById('appSettingsModal').classList.add('active');
+  }
+
+  closeAppSettings() {
+    document.getElementById('appSettingsModal').classList.remove('active');
+  }
+
+  async saveAppSettings() {
+    const settings = {
+      defaultClaudeMdPath: document.getElementById('appSettingsClaudeMdPath').value.trim(),
+      defaultWorkingDir: document.getElementById('appSettingsDefaultDir').value.trim(),
+    };
+
+    // Save to localStorage
+    localStorage.setItem('claudeman-app-settings', JSON.stringify(settings));
+
+    // Also save to server
+    try {
+      await fetch('/api/settings', {
+        method: 'PUT',
+        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+        body: JSON.stringify(settings)
+      });
+      this.showToast('Settings saved', 'success');
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Server save failed but localStorage succeeded
+      this.showToast('Settings saved locally', 'warning');
+    }
+
+    this.closeAppSettings();
+  }
+
+  loadAppSettingsFromStorage() {
+    try {
+      const saved = localStorage.getItem('claudeman-app-settings');
+      if (saved) {
+        return JSON.parse(saved);
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error('Failed to load app settings:', err);
+    }
+    return {};
+  }
+
+  async loadAppSettingsFromServer() {
+    try {
+      const res = await fetch('/api/settings');
+      if (res.ok) {
+        const settings = await res.json();
+        // Merge with localStorage (server takes precedence)
+        const localSettings = this.loadAppSettingsFromStorage();
+        const merged = { ...localSettings, ...settings };
+        localStorage.setItem('claudeman-app-settings', JSON.stringify(merged));
+        return merged;
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error('Failed to load settings from server:', err);
+    }
+    return this.loadAppSettingsFromStorage();
+  }
+
   // ========== Help Modal ==========
 
   showHelp() {
@@ -1310,6 +1378,7 @@ class ClaudemanApp {
 
   closeAllPanels() {
     this.closeSessionOptions();
+    this.closeAppSettings();
     document.getElementById('respawnPanel').classList.remove('open');
     document.getElementById('newSessionPanel').classList.remove('open');
     document.getElementById('taskPanel').classList.remove('open');
diff --git a/src/web/public/index.html b/src/web/public/index.html
index 8b34b9a5..9b2066a7 100644
--- a/src/web/public/index.html
+++ b/src/web/public/index.html
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
           <span class="status-text">Connecting</span>
         </div>
         <div class="header-tokens" id="headerTokens" title="Total tokens across all sessions">0 tokens</div>
+        <button class="btn-icon-header" onclick="app.openAppSettings()" title="App Settings">&#x2699;</button>
       </div>
     </header>
 
@@ -272,6 +273,33 @@
       </div>
     </div>
 
+    <!-- App Settings Modal -->
+    <div class="modal" id="appSettingsModal">
+      <div class="modal-backdrop" onclick="app.closeAppSettings()"></div>
+      <div class="modal-content">
+        <div class="modal-header">
+          <h3>App Settings</h3>
+          <button class="modal-close" onclick="app.closeAppSettings()">&times;</button>
+        </div>
+        <div class="modal-body">
+          <div class="form-row">
+            <label>Default CLAUDE.md Template Path</label>
+            <input type="text" id="appSettingsClaudeMdPath" placeholder="/path/to/CLAUDE.md template">
+            <span class="form-hint">Used when creating new cases. Leave empty for built-in template.</span>
+          </div>
+          <div class="form-row">
+            <label>Default Working Directory</label>
+            <input type="text" id="appSettingsDefaultDir" placeholder="~/projects">
+            <span class="form-hint">Default directory for new sessions.</span>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+        <div class="form-actions">
+          <button class="btn-toolbar" onclick="app.closeAppSettings()">Cancel</button>
+          <button class="btn-toolbar btn-primary" onclick="app.saveAppSettings()">Save</button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+
     <!-- Help Button -->
     <button class="help-btn" onclick="app.showHelp()" title="Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+?)">?</button>
   </div>
diff --git a/src/web/public/styles.css b/src/web/public/styles.css
index 80d62719..20c2d4f5 100644
--- a/src/web/public/styles.css
+++ b/src/web/public/styles.css
@@ -187,6 +187,27 @@ body {
   font-family: 'SF Mono', Monaco, monospace;
 }
 
+.btn-icon-header {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  width: 24px;
+  height: 24px;
+  background: transparent;
+  border: none;
+  color: var(--text-dim);
+  font-size: 1rem;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  transition: all 0.15s;
+}
+
+.btn-icon-header:hover {
+  background: var(--bg-hover);
+  color: var(--text);
+  transform: rotate(45deg);
+}
+
 /* Session tab gear icon */
 .session-tab .tab-gear {
   opacity: 0;
diff --git a/src/web/server.ts b/src/web/server.ts
index d3f76efc..58f068b0 100644
--- a/src/web/server.ts
+++ b/src/web/server.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import Fastify, { FastifyInstance, FastifyReply, FastifyRequest } from 'fastify'
 import fastifyStatic from '@fastify/static';
 import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, readdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, readdirSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { homedir } from 'node:os';
 import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
 import { Session, ClaudeMessage, type BackgroundTask } from '../session.js';
@@ -650,6 +650,36 @@ export class WebServer extends EventEmitter {
         return { success: false, error: (err as Error).message };
       }
     });
+
+    // ============ App Settings Endpoints ============
+    const settingsPath = join(homedir(), '.claudeman', 'settings.json');
+
+    this.app.get('/api/settings', async () => {
+      try {
+        if (existsSync(settingsPath)) {
+          const content = readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf-8');
+          return JSON.parse(content);
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.error('Failed to read settings:', err);
+      }
+      return {};
+    });
+
+    this.app.put('/api/settings', async (req) => {
+      const settings = req.body as { defaultClaudeMdPath?: string; defaultWorkingDir?: string };
+
+      try {
+        const dir = dirname(settingsPath);
+        if (!existsSync(dir)) {
+          mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+        }
+        writeFileSync(settingsPath, JSON.stringify(settings, null, 2));
+        return { success: true };
+      } catch (err) {
+        return { error: (err as Error).message };
+      }
+    });
   }
 
   private setupSessionListeners(session: Session): void {