fix-claude-plugin

name

fix-claude-plugin

description

Re-apply all local patches to the Claude Code IDE extension (Cursor / VS Code) bundles — disable shift+tab mode cycling, make remoteControlAtStartup work, and force sessions to start in Auto permission mode (never bypass). Re-runnable after every extension update, since updates re-ship the bundles. Use when the user says "fix the claude plugin", "the plugin updated", remote control doesn't auto-start, shift+tab is back, sessions start in bypass permissions again, or asks to re-apply the plugin patches.

Fix Claude Plugin (Claude Code IDE extension patches)

Applies all local patches to the Claude Code IDE extension (Cursor / VS Code native UI) bundles. These fix behaviors that have no supported setting and can only be changed by patching the shipped JavaScript.

Supersedes and merges the retired fix-keyboard-shortcuts and fix-remote-control-startup skills.

How to run

python3 ~/.claude/skills/fix-claude-plugin/patch.py

Then reload the IDE window (Command Palette → "Reload Window").

The script finds every installed anthropic.claude-code-* extension under ~/.cursor-server, ~/.cursor, ~/.vscode-server, ~/.vscode (and insiders), matches each patch by structure (regex with backreferences — survives minifier renames across versions), backs each file up once to *.js.prepatch-bak, and is idempotent (safe to run repeatedly). Output per patch: patched, already patched, or NOT FOUND (= the extension restructured that code; see "After a plugin update" below).

The patches

1. shift+tab "cycle permission mode" → no-op (webview/index.js)

The native UI's input is a webview with keydown handlers compiled into webview/index.js. It does not read ~/.claude/keybindings.json (terminal CLI only) and the handler is not a VS Code command, so it cannot be remapped. The patch drops the cycle call, leaving shift+tab swallowed.

Related but NOT patched: ctrl+j = insert newline (left intact); ctrl/cmd+escape = focus input is the registered command claude-vscode.focus and is remappable normally in VS Code keybindings.

2. remoteControlAtStartup honored (extension.js)

Auto-enable is fully implemented (verified in 2.1.207), but double-gated. On each session's init response the host runs:

this.remoteControlAutoEnableOn(g)          // = g.ide_rc_auto_enable_gate===true  <- GB rollout gate
  && g.remote_control_auto_enable          // <- your remoteControlAtStartup setting
  && channel.remoteControlState==="disconnected"
  && !isTeleportedSession
) this.toggleRemoteControl(channel, true)

with remoteControlAutoEnableOn(e){return e.ide_rc_auto_enable_gate===!0}. ide_rc_auto_enable_gate is the CLI's tengu_ide_rc_auto_enable GrowthBook staged-rollout kill-switch (default false). Until Anthropic flips it for your account, the setting is silently ignored in the IDE (terminal CLI sessions are unaffected). The patch makes the gate method return!0; the remote_control_auto_enable check (your setting) stays, so auto-enable still strictly follows remoteControlAtStartup in ~/.claude/settings.json.

Version note: builds ~2.1.181–2.1.201 briefly removed remoteControlAutoEnableOn entirely (patch reports NOT FOUND on those); 2.1.203+ restored it. Cursor pins the extension via OpenVSX and may lag behind the VS Marketplace — if stuck on a pre-2.1.203 build, side-load a newer targeted VSIX from https://open-vsx.org/api/Anthropic/claude-code/<target>/<version>/file/... (e.g. linux-x64) via Command Palette → "Extensions: Install from VSIX".

Prerequisites if it "doesn't work": "remoteControlAtStartup": true in ~/.claude/settings.json, signed in with a claude.ai account (not API key), CLI ≥ 2.1.51, org toggle enabled on Team/Enterprise plans.

3. Sessions always start in Auto permission mode (extension.js)

Unpatched resolution order in getInitialPermissionMode():

claudeCode.initialPermissionMode setting   // workspace/user VS Code setting
?? globalState "defaultPermissionMode"     // <- persisted LAST-USED mode
?? "default"

The persisted last-used mode is why sessions kept starting in bypassPermissions after it was used once. The patch inserts an early return"auto", so every new session starts in Auto ("approve actions that pass a safety check, pause for anything risky").

Notes:

• You can still switch modes freely inside a session; the choice just no longer leaks into the next session's starting mode.
• If Auto mode is unavailable (model doesn't support it, disableAutoMode policy, or the tengu_auto_mode_state gate), the webview automatically falls back to "default" (Manual) — never bypass.
• This intentionally overrides the claudeCode.initialPermissionMode VS Code setting (whose enum doesn't offer "auto" anyway). To change the enforced mode, edit the replace string of patch 3 in patch.py.

After a plugin update

Just run the script again — the new version's bundles get patched. If a patch reports NOT FOUND, the extension restructured that code: grep the target bundle for the anchor strings (key==="Tab" + shiftKey; ide_rc_auto_enable_gate / remoteControlAutoEnableOn; getInitialPermissionMode), locate the new form, and update that patch's find/already regexes in patch.py. If an anchor string is gone entirely, Anthropic may have shipped the behavior properly (e.g. rollout complete) — test unpatched before re-adding.

Rollback

Restore any bundle from its *.js.prepatch-bak sibling and reload the window.

Alternatives (no patching)

• Terminal mode ("claudeCode.useTerminal": true) runs the real CLI REPL, which honors ~/.claude/keybindings.json and remoteControlAtStartup natively — at the cost of the native webview UI.
• Manual per-session: /remote-control to connect, mode picker to leave bypass.