Getting started

claudectl is a workspace layer that sits in front of Claude Code. It does not replace it and does not proxy your conversations: it configures Claude Code, launches it with the model, effort, permissions and context you meant, and maintains the project's context between sessions.

Concretely, that is four jobs:

Workspace	Every folder Claude Code has ever opened, every session inside it — browsable, searchable, taggable, forkable, archivable, across every account.
Memory	A semantic graph of the codebase, injected through three token-budgeted surfaces so a fresh session starts already knowing the project.
Launch control	Model, reasoning effort, permission mode, subagents, worktree, account — chosen per project and remembered.
Cost	What a turn costs across every surface at once, and the tools to cut it.

It is pure Python standard library with zero runtime dependencies, and it uses the Claude Code authentication you already have. No API key.

The three surfaces

The same engine, three ways in. Pick whichever you prefer — they do the same things.

• Terminal UI — claudectl

  Keyboard-first, one screen per job, instant. The default. Every action has a key and ? prints the map.

• Desktop app — claudectl --gui

  The whole workspace as a local app on loopback, with the dashboard, the usage banner and the theme system. Full parity with the terminal UI.

• Claude Code plugin — /plugin install

  Three slash commands and eight skills inside a session, for recall, status and review without leaving the conversation.

The command line is the fourth way in and the one scripts and hooks use — no UI, one answer on stdout.

Where to go next

Installation	pipx, pip, a checkout, the desktop window, Windows shortcuts
Quickstart	install to first session in five minutes
Configuration	every file claudectl reads and writes, and where
Projects	health checks, auto-fixes and whether the generated context still matches the repo
Sessions	browse, search, tag, fork, resume, archive, export
Project memory	the memory graph and its three injection surfaces
Architecture graph	the interactive dependency view
Usage & cost	what you spend per turn, and how to cut it
Troubleshooting	when something does not work

Reference material — the HTTP API, multiple accounts, MCP servers, agents & skills, hooks, Plan → Execute, the status line — is in the Reference section of the sidebar.