CCManager - AI Code Assistant Session Manager

CCManager is a TUI application for managing multiple AI coding assistant sessions (Claude Code, Gemini CLI) across Git worktrees.

Screencast.From.2025-06-30.00-39-53.mp4

Features

• Run multiple AI assistant sessions in parallel across different Git worktrees
• Support for multiple AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Gemini CLI)
• Switch between sessions seamlessly
• Visual status indicators for session states (busy, waiting, idle)
• Create, merge, and delete worktrees from within the app
• Copy Claude Code session data between worktrees to maintain conversation context
• Configurable keyboard shortcuts
• Command presets with automatic fallback support
• Configurable state detection strategies for different CLI tools
• Status change hooks for automation and notifications
• Devcontainer integration

Why CCManager over Claude Squad?

Both tools solve the same problem - managing multiple Claude Code sessions - but take different approaches.

If you love tmux-based workflows, stick with Claude Squad! It's a great tool that leverages tmux's power for session management.

CCManager is for developers who want:

🚀 No tmux dependency

CCManager is completely self-contained. No need to install or configure tmux - it works out of the box. Perfect if you don't use tmux or want to keep your tmux setup separate from Claude Code management.

👁️ Real-time session monitoring

CCManager shows the actual state of each Claude Code session directly in the menu:

• Waiting: Claude is asking for user input
• Busy: Claude is processing
• Idle: Ready for new tasks

Claude Squad doesn't show session states in its menu, making it hard to know which sessions need attention. While Claude Squad offers an AutoYes feature, this bypasses Claude Code's built-in security confirmations - not recommended for safe operation.

🎯 Simple and intuitive interface

Following Claude Code's philosophy, CCManager keeps things minimal and intuitive. The interface is so simple you'll understand it in seconds - no manual needed.

Install

npm install -g ccmanager

Or for local development:

npm install
npm run build
npm start

Usage

ccmanager

Or run without installing:

npx ccmanager

Keyboard Shortcuts

Default Shortcuts

• Ctrl+E: Return to menu from active session
• Escape: Cancel/Go back in dialogs

Customizing Shortcuts

You can customize keyboard shortcuts in two ways:

1. Through the UI: Select "Configuration" → "Configure Shortcuts" from the main menu
2. Configuration file: Edit ~/.config/ccmanager/config.json

Example configuration:

// config.json (new format)
{
  "shortcuts": {
    "returnToMenu": {
      "ctrl": true,
      "key": "r"
    },
    "cancel": {
      "key": "escape"
    }
  }
}

Note: Shortcuts from shortcuts.json will be automatically migrated to config.json on first use.

Restrictions

• Shortcuts must use a modifier key (Ctrl) except for special keys like Escape
• The following key combinations are reserved and cannot be used:
  • Ctrl+C
  • Ctrl+D
  • Ctrl+[ (equivalent to Escape)

Supported AI Assistants

CCManager now supports multiple AI coding assistants with tailored state detection:

Claude Code (Default)

• Command: claude
• State detection: Built-in patterns for Claude's prompts and status messages

Gemini CLI

• Command: gemini
• State detection: Custom patterns for Gemini's confirmation prompts
• Installation: google-gemini/gemini-cli

Each assistant has its own state detection strategy to properly track:

• Idle: Ready for new input
• Busy: Processing a request
• Waiting: Awaiting user confirmation

See Gemini Support Documentation for detailed configuration instructions.

Command Configuration

CCManager supports configuring the command and arguments used to run Claude Code sessions, with automatic fallback options for reliability.

Features

• Configure the main command (default: claude)
• Set primary arguments (e.g., --resume)
• Define fallback arguments if the primary configuration fails
• Automatic retry with no arguments as final fallback

Quick Start

1. Navigate to Configuration → Configure Command
2. Set your desired arguments (e.g., --resume for resuming sessions)
3. Optionally set fallback arguments
4. Save changes

For detailed configuration options and examples, see docs/command-config.md.

Session Data Copying

CCManager can copy Claude Code session data (conversation history, context, and project state) when creating new worktrees, allowing you to maintain context across different branches.

Features

• Seamless Context Transfer: Continue conversations in new worktrees without losing context
• Configurable Default: Set whether to copy session data by default
• Per-Creation Choice: Decide on each worktree creation whether to copy data
• Safe Operation: Copying is non-fatal - worktree creation succeeds even if copying fails

How It Works

When creating a new worktree, CCManager:

1. Asks whether to copy session data from the current worktree
2. Copies all session files from ~/.claude/projects/[source-path] to ~/.claude/projects/[target-path]
3. Preserves conversation history, project context, and Claude Code state
4. Allows immediate continuation of conversations in the new worktree

Configuration

1. Navigate to Configuration → Configure Worktree
2. Toggle Copy Session Data to set the default behavior
3. Save changes

The default choice (copy or start fresh) will be pre-selected when creating new worktrees.

Use Cases

• Feature Development: Copy session data when creating feature branches to maintain project context
• Experimentation: Start fresh when testing unrelated changes
• Collaboration: Share session state across team worktrees
• Context Preservation: Maintain long conversations across multiple development branches

Status Change Hooks

CCManager can execute custom commands when Claude Code session status changes. This enables powerful automation workflows like desktop notifications, logging, or integration with other tools.

Overview

Status hooks allow you to:

• Get notified when Claude needs your input
• Track time spent in different states
• Trigger automations based on session activity
• Integrate with notification systems like noti

For detailed setup instructions, see docs/state-hooks.md.

Automatic Worktree Directory Generation

CCManager can automatically generate worktree directory paths based on branch names, streamlining the worktree creation process.

• Auto-generate paths: No need to manually specify directories
• Customizable patterns: Use placeholders like {branch} in your pattern
• Smart sanitization: Branch names are automatically made filesystem-safe

For detailed configuration and examples, see docs/worktree-auto-directory.md.

Devcontainer Integration

CCManager supports running AI assistant sessions inside devcontainers while keeping the manager itself on the host machine. This enables sandboxed development environments with restricted network access while maintaining host-level notifications and automation.

Features

• Host-based management: CCManager runs on your host machine, managing sessions inside containers
• Seamless integration: All existing features (presets, status hooks, etc.) work with devcontainers
• Security-focused: Compatible with Anthropic's recommended devcontainer configurations
• Persistent state: Configuration and history persist across container recreations

Usage

# Start CCManager with devcontainer support
npx ccmanager --devc-up-command "<your devcontainer up command>" \
              --devc-exec-command "<your devcontainer exec command>"

The devcontainer integration requires both commands:

• --devc-up-command: Any command to start the devcontainer
• --devc-exec-command: Any command to execute inside the container

Benefits

• Safe experimentation: Run commands like claude --dangerously-skip-permissions without risk

For detailed setup and configuration, see docs/devcontainer.md.

Git Worktree Configuration

CCManager can display enhanced git status information for each worktree when Git's worktree configuration extension is enabled.

# Enable enhanced status tracking
git config extensions.worktreeConfig true

With this enabled, you'll see:

• File changes: +10 -5 (additions/deletions)
• Commit tracking: ↑3 ↓1 (ahead/behind parent branch)
• Parent branch context: Shows which branch the worktree was created from

For complete setup instructions and troubleshooting, see docs/git-worktree-config.md.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Build
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Run linter
npm run lint

# Run type checker
npm run typecheck