Summary

tweakcc is a lightweight, interactive CLI tool designed to deeply personalize the Claude Code experience. It empowers users to customize system prompts, themes, thinking verbs, animations, and UI elements, enhancing usability and fixing specific bugs. The tool targets Claude Code users seeking a tailored and more visually appealing interaction environment.

How It Works

The core mechanism involves patching Claude Code's cli.js file. Customizations are stored in a configuration directory (~/.tweakcc/ or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tweakcc/) and automatically reapplied after Claude Code updates, which would otherwise overwrite them. The tool maintains backups of the original cli.js to facilitate reverting changes and ensure a clean state for patching.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Primary Run Command: npx tweakcc or pnpm dlx tweakcc (no installation required). Global install: npm install -g tweakcc.
• Prerequisites: Node.js environment. Supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and various Node.js version managers (nvm, fnm, etc.).
• Limitations: Does not support native Claude Code installations (see #29).
• Links: Repository: https://github.com/Piebald-AI/tweakcc.git

Highlighted Details

• Full customization of Claude Code's system prompts.
• Interactive theme creation with an HSL/RGB color picker.
• Addition of custom thinking verbs and spinner animations, with support for cli-spinners.
• Styling for user messages, input box borders, and markdown elements (code, bold, headers).
• Fixes a frozen spinner bug related to CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC.
• Configurable context limit (CLAUDE_CODE_CONTEXT_LIMIT) for Anthropic-compatible APIs.

Maintenance & Community

The project is copyrighted by Piebald LLC. No specific community channels (e.g., Discord, Slack) or roadmap details are provided in the README.

Licensing & Compatibility

• License: MIT.
• Compatibility: The MIT license permits commercial use and integration with closed-source projects. The tool is compatible across Windows, macOS, and Linux, supporting a wide range of Node.js installation and management methods.

Limitations & Caveats

Customizations are ephemeral and must be reapplied after Claude Code updates, as the tool patches the cli.js file directly. Native Claude Code installations are not supported. Some terminal output may not be colorizable due to Claude Code's rendering limitations. Recovery from corrupted cli.js files might require deleting backup files or reinstalling Claude Code.