claude-devtools

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The Problem

Claude Code started hiding what it does.

Since v2.1.20, Claude Code replaced detailed output with opaque summaries. Read 3 files. Searched for 1 pattern. Edited 2 files. No file paths. No content. No line numbers. The community backlash was immediate.

But the problem goes deeper than collapsed file paths:

• Thinking steps — Claude's chain-of-thought reasoning is completely invisible in the terminal
• Tool call details — you see a one-line summary, not the actual input/output
• Subagent activity — agents spawn agents, but you only see the final result
• Context window — a three-segment progress bar with no breakdown of what's consuming your tokens
• Team coordination — teammate messages, task delegation, shutdown requests — all buried

The only workaround is --verbose, which dumps raw JSON, internal system prompts, and thousands of lines of noise. There is no middle ground.

The Solution

claude-devtools is the debugging tool for Claude Code. It reads the Claude Code logs and session transcripts already saved to ~/.claude/ on your machine, and reconstructs everything.

What the terminal hides	What claude-devtools shows
Read 3 files	Exact file paths, syntax-highlighted content with line numbers
Searched for 1 pattern	The regex pattern, every matching file, matched lines
Edited 2 files	Inline diffs with added/removed highlighting
Three-segment context bar	Per-turn token attribution across 7 categories with compaction visualization
Collapsed subagent output	Full execution trees per agent with tool traces, tokens, duration, cost
Nothing about thinking	Extended thinking content, fully visible
--verbose JSON dump	Structured, filterable, navigable interface — no noise
Per-project Claude memory hidden in ~/.claude/projects/.../memory/	MEMORY.md rendered as a clickable index of layers; open any layer in your editor
Copy from terminal = wrapped lines, ANSI codes, broken Markdown	Real selectable text, one-click copy on every message and code block

Zero configuration. No API keys. No wrappers. Works with every session you've ever run.

[!TIP] If claude-devtools saves you time debugging Claude Code, leaving a ⭐ on the repo is the single best way to support the project — it helps other developers find it.

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Installation

Homebrew (macOS)

brew install --cask claude-devtools

Direct Download

Platform	Download	Notes
macOS (Apple Silicon)	.dmg	Download the arm64 asset. Drag to Applications. On first launch: right-click → Open
macOS (Intel)	.dmg	Download the x64 asset. Drag to Applications. On first launch: right-click → Open
Linux	.AppImage / .deb / .rpm / .pacman	Choose the package format for your distro
Windows	.exe	Standard installer. May trigger SmartScreen — click "More info" → "Run anyway"
Docker	docker compose up	Open http://localhost:3456. See Docker deployment

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Key Features

Context Reconstruction

Per-turn token attribution across 7 categories — CLAUDE.md (global, project, directory), skills, @-mentioned files, tool I/O, thinking, team overhead, user text. See exactly what's in the context window at any point.

Terminal-Friendly Copy & Paste

Copying Claude Code output from the terminal mangles it — selection wraps at the terminal width, ANSI color codes leak into the clipboard, and code blocks lose their Markdown formatting. claude-devtools renders every message, tool call, and output as real selectable text with one-click copy on every code block, plus full-session export to Markdown / JSON / plain text.

Project Memory

Claude Code stores per-project memory at ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ — a MEMORY.md index plus one .md file per layer (working style, architecture notes, etc.). claude-devtools surfaces this as a sidebar entry that opens a dedicated pane: layer list on the left, full markdown rendering on the right with frontmatter shown as a metadata card, Obsidian-style [[wikilinks]] for cross-layer navigation, and an icon-driven "Open in…" launcher that hands any layer (or the whole memory folder) off to Finder/Explorer, Cursor, VS Code, Zed, Xcode, iTerm, Ghostty, Terminal — or copies the absolute path.

Team & Subagent Trees

Isolated execution trees per agent with tool traces, token metrics, duration, and cost. Nested agents render recursively.

Tool Call Inspector

Every tool call expanded with specialized viewers — syntax-highlighted Read calls, inline Edit diffs, Bash output, and full subagent trees.

SSH Remote Sessions

Inspect sessions on any remote machine over SSH. Reads ~/.ssh/config, supports agent forwarding and key auth.

Compaction Visualization

See the moment your context hits the limit. Visualizes how context fills, compresses, and refills — so you know exactly what was lost. (Why did Claude forget? — debugging walkthrough)

Notification Triggers

System notifications for .env access, tool errors, high token usage, and custom regex patterns on any field.

Command Palette & Multi-Pane Layout

Cmd+K for cross-session search. Open multiple sessions side-by-side with drag-and-drop tabs.

📖 Full documentation: claude-dev.tools/docs · Copy from Claude Code: claude-dev.tools/docs/copy-paste · JSONL format reference: claude-dev.tools/docs/jsonl-format · claude --verbose comparison: claude-dev.tools/docs/verbose-vs-devtools

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Not a Wrapper

claude-devtools does not wrap, modify, or interfere with Claude Code. It reads session logs that already exist on your machine. Works with sessions from the terminal, IDEs, or any tool that uses Claude Code.

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Docker / Standalone Deployment

Run without Electron — in Docker, on a remote server, or anywhere Node.js runs.

docker compose up
# Open http://localhost:3456

Or manually:

docker build -t claude-devtools .
docker run -p 3456:3456 -v ~/.claude:/data/.claude:ro claude-devtools

Variable	Default	Description
CLAUDE_ROOT	~/.claude	Path to the .claude data directory
HOST	0.0.0.0	Bind address
PORT	3456	Listen port

The standalone server has zero outbound network calls. For maximum isolation: docker run --network none -p 3456:3456 -v ~/.claude:/data/.claude:ro claude-devtools. See SECURITY.md.

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Development

Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, pnpm 10+

git clone https://github.com/matt1398/claude-devtools.git
cd claude-devtools
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Command	Description
pnpm dev	Development with hot reload
pnpm build	Production build
pnpm typecheck	TypeScript type checking
pnpm test	Run all tests
pnpm check	Full quality gate (types + lint + test + build)

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Community

• Discussions — share ideas, ask questions, and read what others are doing in GitHub Discussions.
• Issues — bug reports and feature requests in GitHub Issues.
• Changelog — every release is documented in CHANGELOG.md and on claude-dev.tools/changelog.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines. Please read our Code of Conduct.

Security

IPC handlers validate all inputs with strict path containment checks. File reads are constrained to the project root and ~/.claude. See SECURITY.md.

License

MIT

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