Add support for CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable

[santonakakis]

Add support for CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable

Summary

This PR adds support for the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable used by Claude Code (Anthropic's official CLI), enabling claude-monitor to work with Claude Code's configuration directory structure.

Problem

Currently, claude-monitor only looks for data in:

• ~/.claude/projects
• ~/.config/claude/projects

However, Claude Code uses a different structure where:

• Configuration can be in any directory specified by CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR
• The .claude directory is directly used, not a projects subdirectory
• Multiple configurations can exist for different workspaces

Solution

Modified the get_standard_claude_paths() function to:

1. Check CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable first
2. Support running from within a .claude directory
3. Add Claude Code's default ~/.claude location to the search paths
4. Maintain backward compatibility with existing paths

Changes

def get_standard_claude_paths() -> List[str]:
    """Get list of standard Claude data directory paths to check.
    
    Now supports CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable for Claude Code compatibility.
    """
    paths = []
    
    # Check CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR first (Claude Code standard)
    claude_config_dir = os.environ.get("CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR")
    if claude_config_dir:
        # For Claude Code, the data is directly in CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.claude
        config_path = Path(claude_config_dir).expanduser()
        if config_path.name == ".claude":
            # If CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR already points to .claude, use it directly
            paths.append(str(config_path))
        else:
            # Otherwise, append .claude
            paths.append(str(config_path / ".claude"))
    
    # Also check current directory for .claude (when running from within .claude dir)
    cwd_claude = Path.cwd()
    if cwd_claude.name == ".claude" and cwd_claude.exists():
        paths.append(str(cwd_claude))
    
    # Fall back to original paths and Claude Code's default location
    paths.extend(["~/.claude/projects", "~/.config/claude/projects", "~/.claude"])
    
    return paths

Testing

Tested with multiple Claude Code configurations:

• CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/ccmax.pdi01 claude-monitor ✓
• CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/cc_pers claude-monitor ✓
• cd ~/.claude && claude-monitor ✓
• Running without CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR still works with original paths ✓

Use Case

This enables users to monitor multiple Claude Code instances in a tmux dashboard:

# Monitor different Claude configurations
tmux new-session -d
tmux send-keys "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/workspace1 claude-monitor" C-m
tmux split-window
tmux send-keys "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/workspace2 claude-monitor" C-m

Author

Steve Antonakakis ([email protected]) on behalf of AeyeOps

Backward Compatibility

All existing functionality is preserved. The changes only add new search paths and do not modify the behavior for users not using Claude Code.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • Expanded support for discovering Claude data directories, including detection via an environment variable and the current working directory.

• Chores

  • Improved internal handling of directory paths for enhanced flexibility.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The get_standard_claude_paths function in src/claude_monitor/cli/main.py was updated to expand its directory search logic. It now considers the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable, checks for a .claude directory in the current working directory, and maintains the original default paths. An import for os was also added.

Changes

File(s)	Change Summary
src/claude_monitor/cli/main.py	Enhanced get_standard_claude_paths to check CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, current .claude dir, and defaults; added os import.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~7 minutes

Poem

In burrows deep, I search with glee,
For Claude’s paths, where might they be?
Env vars checked and folders found,
In current holes and all around.
With every hop, I sniff and peer—
The cleverest code is always near!
🐇✨

Note

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 06f0fe1 and 7fa4295.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/claude_monitor/cli/main.py (3 hunks)

🔇 Additional comments (6)

src/claude_monitor/cli/main.py (6)

11-11: LGTM: Import addition is appropriate.

The os import is correctly placed and necessary for the environment variable functionality.

---

46-49: Documentation is clear and informative.

The updated docstring accurately describes the new functionality and is appropriately concise.

---

50-62: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR handling logic is sound.

The implementation correctly handles both cases where CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR points directly to a .claude directory or to a parent directory. The use of expanduser() and safe environment variable access with get() are appropriate.

---

64-67: Current directory detection works correctly.

The logic properly detects when running from within a .claude directory. Note that the .exists() check is technically redundant since Path.cwd() always returns an existing directory, but it doesn't harm functionality.

---

69-72: Excellent backward compatibility preservation.

The fallback paths maintain full compatibility with existing functionality while adding support for Claude Code's default location. The path ordering is logical, prioritizing environment-specified and current directory paths.

---

45-72: Well-implemented enhancement that meets all PR objectives.

The complete rewrite successfully adds CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR support while maintaining full backward compatibility. The implementation follows a logical priority order (environment variable → current directory → defaults) and integrates seamlessly with the existing codebase. The code is clean, readable, and handles the key use cases described in the PR.

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[santonakakis]

Additional Context on CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR

For reference, here are some official Anthropic Claude Code issues that discuss CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:

• Issue #519 - Users reporting usage of CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR with file not found errors
• Issue #2277 - Discussion about user config directory behavior
• Issue #1455 - Claude Code's configuration directory structure

The environment variable is actively used by the Claude Code community for managing multiple installations, though it appears to have some implementation quirks (requiring full paths instead of relative paths).

This PR makes claude-monitor compatible with this Claude Code feature, allowing users to monitor different Claude Code configurations as intended.