diff --git a/hooks/ponytail-activate.js b/hooks/ponytail-activate.js
index b44251d..fb9ad96 100644
--- a/hooks/ponytail-activate.js
+++ b/hooks/ponytail-activate.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // ponytail — Claude Code SessionStart activation hook
 //
 // Runs on every session start:
-//   1. Writes flag file at ~/.claude/.ponytail-active (statusline reads this)
+//   1. Writes flag file at $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.ponytail-active (defaults to ~/.claude; statusline reads this)
 //   2. Emits ponytail ruleset as hidden SessionStart context
 //   3. Detects missing statusline config and emits setup nudge
 
diff --git a/hooks/ponytail-statusline.ps1 b/hooks/ponytail-statusline.ps1
index d9fe437..2caac54 100644
--- a/hooks/ponytail-statusline.ps1
+++ b/hooks/ponytail-statusline.ps1
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-$Flag = Join-Path $HOME ".claude/.ponytail-active"
+# CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR overrides ~/.claude, matching where the hooks write the flag (issue #34)
+$ClaudeDir = if ($env:CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR) { $env:CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR } else { Join-Path $HOME ".claude" }
+$Flag = Join-Path $ClaudeDir ".ponytail-active"
 if (-not (Test-Path $Flag)) {
     exit 0
 }
diff --git a/hooks/ponytail-statusline.sh b/hooks/ponytail-statusline.sh
index 5e83a27..95f75c7 100644
--- a/hooks/ponytail-statusline.sh
+++ b/hooks/ponytail-statusline.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-flag="$HOME/.claude/.ponytail-active"
+# CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR overrides ~/.claude, matching where the hooks write the flag (issue #34)
+flag="${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-$HOME/.claude}/.ponytail-active"
 [ -f "$flag" ] || exit 0
 
 mode=$(head -n1 "$flag" | tr -d '[:space:]')