claude-devtools-inspector

# claude-devtools Inspector > Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Devtools Skills collection. claude-devtools is the missing DevTools for Claude Code. It reads session logs from `~/.claude/` and reconstructs everything Claude Code hides: tool calls, token usage, subagent trees, thinking steps, context window breakdown, and memory layers. Works with all existing sessions — no wrapper, no API keys, no configuration. ## What claude-devtools Does - **Session inspection**: View full transcripts of any Claude Code session with syntax-highlighted messages - **Tool call visibility**: See exact inputs/outputs for Read, Edit, Bash, Search, and all other tools - **Token attribution**: Per-turn breakdown across 7 categories (CLAUDE.md, skills, @-mentions, tool I/O, thinking, team overhead, user text) - **Context compaction**: Visualize when context hits limits and what gets compressed/dropped - **Subagent trees**: Isolated execution traces for nested agents with cost/duration metrics - **Memory viewer**: Browse project memory layers stored in `~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/` - **Thinking steps**: Full extended thinking content that's invisible in the terminal - **Copy/paste**: Export sessions to Markdown/JSON, one-click copy on code blocks ## Installation ### Desktop App (macOS) ```bash # Homebrew brew install --cask claude-devtools # Or download from releases open https://github.com/matt1398/claude-devtools/releases/latest ``` ### Docker / Standalone Server ```bash # Using docker-compose docker compose up # Or manual docker run docker build -t claude-devtools . docker run -p 3456:3456 -v ~/.claude:/data/.claude:ro claude-devtools # Open http://localhost:3456 ``` ### Build from Source ```bash git clone https://github.com/matt1398/claude-devtools.git cd claude-devtools pnpm install pnpm dev # Development mode with hot reload pnpm build # Production build ``` ## Key Configuration claude-devtools reads from `~/.claude/` by default. No config files needed. ### Environment Variables (Docker/Standalone) ```bash # .env or docker-compose environment CLAUDE_ROOT=~/.claude # Path to Claude data directory HOST=0.0.0.0 # Bind address PORT=3456 # Listen port ``` ### Custom Claude Directory If your Claude data is in a non-standard location: ```bash # Docker docker run -p 3456:3456 -v /custom/path:/data/.claude:ro claude-devtools # Desktop app: use "Open Custom Directory" in UI ``` ## Session Log Format Claude Code writes JSONL logs to `~/.claude/sessions/<session-id>.jsonl`. Each line is a JSON object: ```typescript interface SessionLogEntry { type: 'user' | 'assistant' | 'tool_use' | 'tool_result' | 'thinking' | 'team_message'; timestamp: string; content?: string; tool_name?: string; tool_input?: Record<string, unknown>; tool_output?: string; tokens?: { input: number; output: number; cache_read?: number; cache_creation?: number; }; context?: { used: number; limit: number; segments: { type: string; tokens: number }[]; }; } ``` ## Common Use Cases ### Inspect a Running Session ```bash # Start Claude Code in terminal claude code --session my-task # In claude-devtools UI: # 1. Open app (or navigate to http://localhost:3456 if using Docker) # 2. Session appears automatically in sidebar # 3. Click to view live updates ``` ### Find High Token Usage ```typescript // Use the UI token filter // Or query JSONL directly with jq cat ~/.claude/sessions/<session-id>.jsonl \ | jq 'select(.tokens.input > 10000) | {timestamp, tokens}' ``` ### Export Session Transcript ```bash # In claude-devtools UI: # 1. Open session # 2. Click "Export" button (top right) # 3. Choose format: Markdown, JSON, or Plain Text # Result includes all messages, tool calls, and thinking steps ``` ### Debug Context Compaction When Claude "forgets" earlier context: 1. Open session in claude-devtools 2. Navigate to Context tab 3. Look for red/orange segments in token visualization 4. Hover over compacted segments to see what was dropped 5. Click "Show Compaction Events" to see exact turn numbers ### Review Tool Calls ```bash # In UI: Filter by tool type # Supported filters: # - Tool: Read, Edit, Bash, Search, ListDir, etc. # - Status: success, error # - Contains: regex pattern match on input/output ``` ### Check Subagent Activity ```typescript // Subagent trees show: // - Agent hierarchy (parent → child) // - Tool calls per agent // - Token usage per agent // - Duration and cost breakdown // In UI: Click "Subagents" tab // Nested agents render recursively with full tool traces ``` ### View Project Memory ```bash # Claude stores memory at: # ~/.claude/projects/<project-id>/memory/ # ├── MEMORY.md # Index of layers # ├── working-style.md # Layer content # ├── architecture.md # └── ... # In claude-devtools: # 1. Click "Memory" in sidebar # 2. Browse layers as clickable index # 3. Click "Open in..." to launch in Cursor/VS Code/etc. ``` ### SSH Remote Sessions Inspect sessions on remote machines: ```typescript // claude-devtools reads ~/.ssh/config automatically // In UI: Settings → Remote → Add SSH Connection // Example ~/.ssh/config: Host prod-server HostName 192.168.1.100 User deploy IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa // In claude-devtools: Select "prod-server" // Sessions from remote ~/.claude appear in sidebar ``` ## Notification Setup Trigger alerts on specific events: ```typescript // In UI: Settings → Notifications // Built-in triggers: { ".env access": { pattern: "\\.env", field: "tool_input.path" }, "High token usage": { threshold: 50000, field: "tokens.input" }, "Tool error": { field: "tool_output", contains: "error|failed|exception" } } // Custom regex trigger: { "API key exposure": { pattern: "(sk-[A-Za-z0-9]{32}|ghp_[A-Za-z0-9]{36})", field: "content" } } ``` ## Troubleshooting ### Session Not Appearing ```bash # Check Claude data directory exists ls -la ~/.claude/sessions/ # Verify permissions chmod 755 ~/.claude chmod 644 ~/.claude/sessions/*.jsonl # Force refresh in UI: Cmd+R (macOS) / Ctrl+R (Linux/Windows) ``` ### Docker Volume Mount Issues ```bash # Ensure read permissions on host chmod -R 755 ~/.claude # Use absolute paths in docker-compose.yml volumes: - /home/user/.claude:/data/.claude:ro # Check mount inside container docker exec <container-id> ls -la /data/.claude/sessions ``` ### Incomplete Session Data ```bash # Claude Code only writes logs for: # - Sessions with --session flag # - Project-level sessions (not global prompts) # Missing thinking steps? Check Claude Code version claude --version # Thinking logs added in v2.2.0+ # Verify JSONL integrity jq empty ~/.claude/sessions/<session-id>.jsonl ``` ### High Memory Usage (Large Sessions) ```bash # Sessions with >100k tokens may consume significant RAM # Solutions: # 1. Close unused session tabs in UI # 2. Use "Export" → "JSON" and analyze offline # 3. Increase Docker memory limit: docker run -m 4g -p 3456:3456 claude-devtools ``` ### macOS Gatekeeper Block ```bash # On first launch, right-click app → Open # Or disable quarantine: xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/claude-devtools.app ``` ## API Reference (Standalone Mode) When running as a server (Docker/Node), claude-devtools exposes: ```typescript // List all sessions GET /api/sessions // Response: { sessions: [{ id, timestamp, title }] } // Get session detail GET /api/sessions/:id // Response: { session: { id, messages: [...] } } // Export session GET /api/sessions/:id/export?format=markdown|json|txt // Response: Content-Type varies by format // Health check GET /health // Response: { status: "ok", version: "1.x.x" } ``` ## Integration with Claude Code ```bash # Run Claude Code with session logging claude code --session my-feature # Session appears instantly in claude-devtools # Live updates as Claude executes tools # Use claude-devtools to: # - Monitor token usage during long sessions # - Verify which files Claude read/edited # - Debug subagent spawning issues # - Export transcript for team review ``` ## Performance Tips ```bash # Limit session retention # Delete old sessions to reduce scan time: find ~/.claude/sessions -mtime +30 -delete # Index large sessions # claude-devtools caches parsed sessions in memory # First load may be slow for 100+ MB logs # Use filters early # Apply tool/timestamp filters before expanding messages ``` ## Security Notes - claude-devtools is **read-only** — never modifies session logs - 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` in repo for full threat model ## Development Commands ```bash # Run tests pnpm test # Type checking pnpm typecheck # Lint pnpm lint # Full quality gate (types + lint + test + build) pnpm check # Build Electron app pnpm build ``` ## Resources - Documentation: https://claude-dev.tools/docs - JSONL format reference: https://claude-dev.tools/docs/jsonl-format - Comparison with `--verbose`: https://claude-dev.tools/docs/verbose-vs-devtools - Debugging walkthrough: https://claude-dev.tools/docs/why-claude-forgot - GitHub issues: https://github.com/matt1398/claude-devtools/issues