CCManager - AI Code Agent Session Manager

CCManager is a CLI application for managing multiple AI coding assistant sessions (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor Agent, Copilot CLI, Cline CLI, OpenCode, Kimi CLI) across Git worktrees and projects.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/15914a88-e288-4ac9-94d5-8127f2e19dbf

Features

• Run multiple AI assistant sessions in parallel across different Git worktrees
• Multi-project support: Manage multiple git repositories from a single interface
• Support for multiple AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor Agent, Copilot CLI, Cline CLI, OpenCode, Kimi 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
• Auto Approval (experimental): Automatically approve safe prompts using AI verification

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

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 Global Configuration → Configure Shortcuts from the main menu
2. Configuration file: Edit ~/.config/ccmanager/config.json or .ccmanager.json for per-project settings (see Per-Project Configuration)

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)

Per-Project Configuration

CCManager supports per-project configuration by placing a .ccmanager.json file in your git repository root. Project settings are merged with the global config (~/.config/ccmanager/config.json), with project settings always taking priority.

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

Supported AI Assistants

CCManager supports multiple AI coding assistants with tailored state detection for each:

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 CCManager-specific configuration.

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 Global Configuration → Configure Command Presets
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.

Claude Code Teammate Mode

When running the claude command with the default (claude) detection strategy, CCManager automatically appends --teammate-mode in-process to the CLI arguments. This prevents conflicts between Claude Code's agent teams feature and ccmanager's PTY-based session management.

• Automatic: No configuration needed. CCManager injects the flag for all claude command sessions.
• Override: If you explicitly specify --teammate-mode in your preset args, your value takes priority.
• Non-claude commands: Other AI assistants (Gemini, Codex, etc.) are not affected.

Setting "teammateMode": "in-process" in Claude Code's settings.json alone is not sufficient when running inside a tmux-like environment, which is why CCManager controls this via the CLI argument.

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 Global 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.

Worktree Hooks

Worktree hooks execute custom commands when worktrees are created, enabling automation of development environment setup.

Features

• Post-creation hook: Run commands after a worktree is created
• Environment variables: Access worktree path, branch name, and git root
• Non-blocking execution: Hooks run asynchronously without delaying operations
• Error resilience: Hook failures don't prevent worktree creation

Use Cases

• Set up development dependencies (npm install, bundle install)
• Configure IDE settings per branch
• Send notifications when worktrees are created
• Initialize branch-specific configurations

For configuration and examples, see docs/worktree-hooks.md.

Automatic Worktree Directory Generation

CCManager can automatically generate worktree directory paths based on branch names, stream