Claude Helper

CLI tools to help Claude Code interact with VS Code - compare git refs, set terminal titles, and send notifications.

Installation

1. Install VS Code Extension

code --install-extension claude-helper

Or install from the VS Code Marketplace

2. Install CLI Tool

Using uv (recommended):

uv tool install claude-helper

Using pip:

pip install claude-helper

Requirements

• VS Code with a workspace folder open
• GitLens extension (for git comparison features)

Usage

Compare Git References

# Compare two branches/commits
ch compare main feature-branch
ch compare HEAD origin/main

# Compare HEAD with another ref
ch compare-head origin/main

Set Terminal Title

# Change the title of your current terminal
ch set-title "Building Project"
ch set-title "Running Tests"

Notifications

# Show a notification in VS Code with timestamp
ch ping

# Show notification with custom message
ch ping "Build completed successfully"
ch ping "Tests passed - 127 tests ran in 2.3s"

# Show notification with current terminal title
ch ping-terminal-title

Clear Comparisons

# Clear all GitLens comparisons
ch clear

Command Reference

Use Cases for Claude Code

Claude Code can use these tools to:

• Compare branches before merging or reviewing changes
• Label terminals during long-running builds or tests
• Send notifications when tasks complete
• Organize workflows with clear terminal naming

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Working

1. Ensure VS Code is open with a workspace folder
2. Check extension is installed: code --list-extensions | grep claude-helper
3. View logs in VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Helper: Show Logs

CLI Timeout

• Make sure VS Code is running
• Verify you're in a git repository
• Check the extension is activated (you should see "Claude Helper activated" notification)

Compare Commands Not Working

• Ensure GitLens extension is installed: code --list-extensions | grep gitlens
• Verify you're in a git repository with valid refs

Documentation

• Development Guide - For contributors
• Debugging - Troubleshooting guide
• Publishing - Release process
• Registration - First-time setup

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See Development Guide for setup instructions.