clawde

CLaude code Wrapper (Duck Extensions)

This program transparently wraps the claude code terminal interface, but modifies stdin to give me some UX improvements.

Install and getting started

• install: go install github.com/mattduck/clawde@latest

• run: clawde. Arguments are directly passed through to claude, which must be on your $PATH. Usage is the same as claude, but with the features mentioned below.

Features

Adjusted enter key behaviour for better multi-line support

When the -- INSERT -- mode indicator is detected, enter will automatically be translated to backslash + enter. You can press Ctrl-J to actually send enter, which will submit the prompt. This swaps the claude code prompt submit behaviour, where the only way to insert a newline is to type backslash. For me this makes it more intuitive to manage multi-line text without accidentally submitting it -- I'm hitting newlines much more frequently that I submit the prompt, so I don't want to have to use backslash.

NOTE: this feature now depends on tmux. Before claude 2.0.72 it was doing full-screen redraws and I'd just look at the output stream for the insert indicator. That release seems to be the one that changed terminal rendering. Now I use a separate goroutine that uses tmux to easily capture the pane contents and check for the string there. Not the most efficient thing but it seems to work.

Additional key bindings

• C-g will send ESC.
• C-p and C-n map to up/down.

Configuration

The following environment variables can be used to configure clawde's behavior:

• CLAWDE_BETTER_DEFAULTS: Sets some UX enhancements for the wrapped program, including CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_PROMPT_SUGGESTION=false per anthropics/claude-code#13878 (comment) (default: true)
• CLAWDE_FORCE_ANSI: The builtin "ansi" theme actually uses true colour, which looks bad in my terminal. This forces ANSI color support by setting COLORTERM=ansi and TERM=xterm for the wrapped program (default: false)
• CLAWDE_OUTPUT_THROTTLING: Experiment to reduce terminal flicker, not sure it works. This just limits screen redraws to happen at a lower frame rate (default: true)
• CLAWDE_INPUT_THROTTLING: A separate, faster rate for when you're typing. (default: true)
• CLAWDE_HELD_ENTER_DETECTION: Feature I tried but didn't like: hold enter key to actually submit (default: false)
• CLAWDE_LOG_FILE: Specifies a file path for logging output (default: disabled)
• CLAWDE_LOG_LEVEL: Sets the logging level (info, debug, error, etc.) (default: info)

All boolean values accept "true", "1", "yes", or "on" (case-insensitive) as true.

Notes

• Obviously wrapping the shell is brittle and the features would be better built in direct.

• Only tested on macOS using iterm2, YMMV on other platforms.

• Features subject to change to whatever I find useful.