Codeman/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

Claudeman is a Claude Code session manager with a web interface and autonomous Ralph Loop. It spawns Claude CLI processes via PTY, streams output in real-time via SSE, and supports scheduled/timed runs.

Tech Stack: TypeScript (ES2022/NodeNext, strict mode), Node.js, Fastify, Server-Sent Events, node-pty

Requirements: Node.js 18+, Claude CLI (claude) installed and available in PATH

Commands

CRITICAL: npm run dev runs CLI help, NOT the web server. Use npx tsx src/index.ts web for development.

npm run build          # Compile TypeScript + copy static files to dist/web/
npm run clean          # Remove dist/

# Start web server (pick one):
npx tsx src/index.ts web           # Dev mode - no build needed (RECOMMENDED)
npx tsx src/index.ts web -p 8080   # Dev mode with custom port
node dist/index.js web             # After npm run build
claudeman web                      # After npm link

# Testing (vitest with globals: true - no imports needed for describe/it/expect)
npm run test                              # Run all tests once
npm run test:watch                        # Watch mode
npm run test:coverage                     # With coverage report
npx vitest run test/session.test.ts       # Single file
npx vitest run -t "should create session" # By pattern
# Tests use ports 3099-3121 to avoid conflicts with dev server (3000)
# Test timeout: 30s (configured in vitest.config.ts for integration tests)
# Tests mock PTY - no real Claude CLI spawned

# TypeScript checking (no linter configured)
npx tsc --noEmit                          # Type check without building

# Debugging
screen -ls                                # List GNU screen sessions
screen -r <name>                          # Attach to screen session
curl localhost:3000/api/sessions          # Check active sessions

Architecture

src/
├── index.ts              # CLI entry (commander)
├── cli.ts                # CLI commands
├── session.ts            # Core: PTY wrapper for Claude CLI + token tracking
├── session-manager.ts    # Manages multiple sessions
├── screen-manager.ts     # GNU screen persistence + process stats
├── respawn-controller.ts # Auto-respawn state machine
├── ralph-loop.ts         # Autonomous task assignment
├── task.ts               # Task class implementation
├── task-queue.ts         # Priority queue with dependencies
├── task-tracker.ts       # Background task detection from terminal output
├── inner-loop-tracker.ts # Detect Ralph loops and todos inside Claude sessions
├── state-store.ts        # Persistence to ~/.claudeman/state.json
├── types.ts              # All TypeScript interfaces
├── web/
│   ├── server.ts         # Fastify REST API + SSE + session restoration
│   └── public/           # Vanilla JS frontend (xterm.js, no bundler)
│       ├── app.js        # Main app logic, SSE handling, tab management
│       ├── styles.css    # All styles including responsive/mobile
│       └── index.html    # Single page with modal templates
└── templates/
    └── claude-md.ts      # CLAUDE.md generator for new cases

test/                             # All tests use vitest
├── session.test.ts               # Core session creation, lifecycle, PTY behavior (port 3102)
├── pty-interactive.test.ts       # Interactive mode, terminal input/output (unit test, no server)
├── respawn-controller.test.ts    # Respawn state machine, idle detection (unit test, no server)
├── inner-loop-tracker.test.ts    # Ralph loop and todo detection parsing (unit test, no server)
├── quick-start.test.ts           # Quick-start API endpoint (ports 3099-3101)
├── scheduled-runs.test.ts        # Timed/scheduled session runs (ports 3105-3106)
├── sse-events.test.ts            # Server-Sent Events broadcasting (ports 3107-3108)
├── integration-flows.test.ts     # Multi-step workflow tests (ports 3115-3116)
├── session-cleanup.test.ts       # Resource cleanup, buffer trimming (ports 3120-3121)
└── edge-cases.test.ts            # Error handling, boundary conditions (ports 3110-3112)

Test ports: Integration tests use unique port ranges (3099-3121) to allow parallel execution. Unit tests don't need a server. Dev server uses port 3000.

Data Flow

1. Session spawns claude -p --dangerously-skip-permissions via node-pty
2. PTY output is buffered, ANSI stripped, and parsed for JSON messages
3. WebServer broadcasts events to SSE clients at /api/events
4. State persists to ~/.claudeman/state.json via StateStore

Key Components

Component	File	Purpose
Session	session.ts	PTY wrapper for Claude CLI. Modes: runPrompt(), startInteractive(), startShell()
RespawnController	respawn-controller.ts	State machine for autonomous session cycling (see diagram below)
ScreenManager	screen-manager.ts	GNU screen persistence, ghost discovery, 4-strategy kill
WebServer	web/server.ts	Fastify REST + SSE at /api/events
InnerLoopTracker	inner-loop-tracker.ts	Detects <promise>PHRASE</promise>, todos, loop status in output

Respawn State Machine

WATCHING → SENDING_UPDATE → WAITING_UPDATE → SENDING_CLEAR → WAITING_CLEAR → SENDING_INIT → WAITING_INIT → WATCHING
    ↑                                                                                                          |
    └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Steps can be skipped via config (sendClear: false, sendInit: false). Idle detection triggers state transitions.

Session Modes

Sessions have a mode property (SessionMode type):

• 'claude': Runs Claude CLI for AI interactions (default)
• 'shell': Runs a plain bash shell for debugging/testing

Code Patterns

Pre-compiled Regex Patterns

For performance, regex patterns that are used frequently should be compiled once at module level:

// Good - compile once
const ANSI_ESCAPE_PATTERN = /\x1b\[[0-9;]*m/g;
const TOKEN_PATTERN = /(\d+(?:\.\d+)?)\s*([kKmM])?\s*tokens/;

// Bad - recompiles on each call
function parse(line: string) {
  return line.replace(/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m/g, '');
}

Claude Message Parsing

Claude CLI outputs newline-delimited JSON. Strip ANSI codes before parsing:

const cleanLine = line.replace(ANSI_ESCAPE_PATTERN, '');
const msg = JSON.parse(cleanLine) as ClaudeMessage;
// msg.type: 'system' | 'assistant' | 'user' | 'result'
// msg.message?.content: Array<{ type: 'text', text: string }>
// msg.total_cost_usd: number (on result messages)

PTY Spawn Modes

// One-shot mode (JSON output for token tracking)
pty.spawn('claude', ['-p', '--dangerously-skip-permissions', '--output-format', 'stream-json', prompt], { ... })

// Interactive mode (tokens parsed from status line)
pty.spawn('claude', ['--dangerously-skip-permissions'], { ... })

// Shell mode (debugging/testing - no Claude CLI)
pty.spawn('bash', [], { ... })

Sending Input to Sessions

There are two methods for sending input to Claude sessions:

1. session.write(data) - Direct PTY write

Used by the /api/sessions/:id/input API endpoint. Writes directly to PTY.

session.write('hello world');  // Text only, no Enter
session.write('\r');           // Enter key separately

2. session.writeViaScreen(data) - Via GNU screen (RECOMMENDED for programmatic input)

Used by RespawnController, auto-compact, auto-clear. More reliable for Ink/Claude CLI.

// Append \r to include Enter - the method handles splitting automatically
session.writeViaScreen('your command here\r');
session.writeViaScreen('/clear\r');
session.writeViaScreen('/init\r');

How writeViaScreen works internally (in screen-manager.ts:sendInput):

1. Splits input into text and \r (carriage return)
2. Sends text first: screen -S name -p 0 -X stuff "text"
3. Sends Enter separately: screen -S name -p 0 -X stuff "$(printf '\015')"

Why separate commands? Claude CLI uses Ink (React for terminals) which requires text and Enter as separate screen -X stuff commands. Combining them doesn't work.

API Usage

# Send text (won't submit until Enter is sent)
curl -X POST localhost:3000/api/sessions/:id/input \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": "your prompt here"}'

# Send Enter separately to submit
curl -X POST localhost:3000/api/sessions/:id/input \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": "\r"}'

Note: The API uses session.write() which goes to PTY directly. For reliability with Ink, consider using the respawn controller pattern or adding an API endpoint that uses writeViaScreen().

Idle Detection

RespawnController: Primary ↵ send indicator, fallback prompt chars (❯, ⏵) + 10s timeout. Working patterns: Thinking, Writing, Running. Session: emits idle/working events on prompt detection + 2s activity timeout.

Token Tracking

• One-shot mode: Uses --output-format stream-json for detailed token usage from JSON
• Interactive mode: Parses tokens from Claude's status line (e.g., "123.4k tokens"), estimates 60/40 input/output split

Auto-Compact & Auto-Clear

Feature	Default Threshold	Action
Auto-Compact	110k tokens	/compact with optional prompt
Auto-Clear	140k tokens	/clear to reset context

Both wait for idle. Configure via session.setAutoCompact() / session.setAutoClear().

Inner Loop Tracking

Detects Ralph loops and todos inside Claude sessions. Disabled by default - auto-enables when Ralph-related patterns are detected:

• /ralph-loop command
• <promise>PHRASE</promise> completion phrases
• TodoWrite tool usage
• Iteration patterns (Iteration 5/50, [5/50])
• Todo checkboxes (- [ ]/- [x]) or indicator icons (☐/◐/✓)

API: GET /api/sessions/:id/inner-state. UI: collapsible panel below tabs with enable/disable toggle. Use tracker.enable() / tracker.disable() for programmatic control, or POST /api/sessions/:id/inner-config with { enabled: boolean } via API.

Terminal Display Fix

Tab switch/new session fix: clear xterm → write buffer → resize PTY → Ctrl+L redraw. Uses pendingCtrlL Set, triggered on session:idle/session:working events.

SSE Events

All events broadcast to /api/events with format: { type: string, sessionId?: string, data: any }.

Event prefixes: session:, task:, respawn:, scheduled:, case:, screen:, init. Key events: session:idle, session:working, session:terminal, session:clearTerminal, session:completion, session:autoClear, session:autoCompact, session:innerLoopUpdate, session:innerTodoUpdate, session:innerCompletionDetected.

Frontend (app.js)

Vanilla JS + xterm.js. handleSSEEvent() dispatches events, switchToSession() manages tabs. 60fps: server batches 16ms, client uses requestAnimationFrame.

State Store

Writes debounced (100ms) to ~/.claudeman/state.json. Batches rapid changes.

Adding New Features

New API Endpoint

1. Add types to src/types.ts
2. Add route in src/web/server.ts within buildServer()
3. Use createErrorResponse() for errors

New SSE Event

1. Emit from component via broadcast() in server.ts
2. Handle in src/web/public/app.js handleSSEEvent() switch

New Session Event

1. Add to SessionEvents interface in src/session.ts
2. Emit via this.emit()
3. Subscribe in src/web/server.ts when wiring session to SSE
4. Handle in frontend SSE listener

Session Lifecycle & Cleanup

• Limit: MAX_CONCURRENT_SESSIONS = 50
• Kill (killScreen()): child PIDs → process group → screen quit → SIGKILL
• Ghost discovery: reconcileScreens() finds orphaned screens on startup
• Cleanup (cleanupSession()): stops respawn, clears buffers/timers, kills screen

Buffer Limits

Long-running sessions are supported with automatic trimming:

Buffer	Max Size	Trim To
Terminal	5MB	4MB
Text output	2MB	1.5MB
Messages	1000	800
Line buffer	64KB	(flushed every 100ms)
Respawn buffer	1MB	512KB

E2E Testing

Uses agent-browser for web UI automation. Full test plan: .claude/skills/e2e-test.md

npx agent-browser open http://localhost:3000 && npx agent-browser snapshot

API Routes Quick Reference

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/events	SSE stream for real-time updates
GET	/api/status	Full application state
GET/POST/DELETE	/api/sessions	List/create/kill-all sessions
GET/DELETE	/api/sessions/:id	Get/delete specific session
POST	/api/sessions/:id/input	Send input to session PTY
POST	/api/sessions/:id/resize	Resize terminal (cols, rows)
POST	/api/sessions/:id/interactive	Start interactive mode
POST	/api/sessions/:id/respawn/start	Start respawn controller
POST	/api/sessions/:id/respawn/stop	Stop respawn controller
POST	/api/sessions/:id/respawn/enable	Enable respawn with config + optional timer
PUT	/api/sessions/:id/respawn/config	Update config on running respawn
POST	/api/sessions/:id/inner-config	Configure Ralph Wiggum loop settings
GET	/api/sessions/:id/inner-state	Get Ralph loop state + todos
POST	/api/sessions/:id/auto-compact	Configure auto-compact threshold
POST	/api/sessions/:id/auto-clear	Configure auto-clear threshold
POST	/api/quick-start	Create case + start interactive session
GET	/api/cases	List available cases
POST	/api/cases	Create new case
GET	/api/screens	List screen sessions with stats

CLI Commands (when using claudeman globally)

claudeman web [-p PORT]              # Start web interface
claudeman start [--dir PATH]         # Start Claude session
claudeman list                       # List sessions
claudeman task add "PROMPT"          # Add task to queue
claudeman ralph start [--min-hours N] # Start autonomous loop
claudeman status                     # Overall status

Notes

• State persists to ~/.claudeman/state.json, ~/.claudeman/state-inner.json, and ~/.claudeman/screens.json
• Inner loop/todo state persists separately in state-inner.json to reduce write frequency
• Cases created in ~/claudeman-cases/ by default