Claude Auto Responder for VS Code Terminal

A VS Code extension that automates interactions with Claude CLI in VS Code's integrated terminal by automatically responding to confirmation dialogs, streamlining your development workflow.

⚠️ Important: This extension is specifically designed for VS Code's integrated terminal. It monitors and responds to Claude CLI prompts running inside VS Code, not in external terminals.

Now you can safely take a nap or do the dishes while your code finishes itself.*

*Auto-diaper-change feature not yet implemented.

Features

🤖 Auto Mode

• Detects ╭─ dialog boxes and responds automatically
• "Do you want to" → 1 (Yes) • "Yes, and don't ask again" → 2
• Configurable delay (1-300s, default: 5s) • Safety checks for destructive commands

🔄 Continuous Mode

• Auto-Continue: Sends Continue. when Claude shows empty prompt (╭─ > ╰─)
• Smart Pause: Auto-pauses on fast responses or usage limits
• Status Display: [Pause]/[Limit] indicators with auto/manual resume
• 3-State Toggle: Off → Auto → Continuous → Off

🛡️ Safety & System

• Sleep Prevention: Auto caffeinate/powercfg with 10min idle pause
• Destructive Detection: Blocks rm -rf, fork bombs, etc.
• Smart Terminal: Auto-targets correct Claude terminal, prevents input interference
• Cross-Platform: macOS, Windows, Linux support

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Install directly from the VS Code Marketplace:

Install from VS Code Marketplace

Prerequisites

• VS Code 1.74.0 or higher
• Claude CLI (claude command available)
• Smart Startup: Automatically tries claude --continue first, falls back to claude if no conversation exists
• Important: Claude CLI must be started via script command for terminal monitoring to work

Development Installation

1. Clone this repository
2. Open in VS Code
3. Press F5 to launch debug mode
4. Test the extension in the new window

Usage

Basic Usage (VS Code Terminal Only)

1. Enable Auto Mode

   • Click [✽] in the VS Code status bar
   • Or Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Auto Mode: Toggle

2. Start Claude CLI in VS Code Terminal

   • Auto-start option appears when Auto Mode is enabled
   • Or manually start via Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Auto Responder: Start Claude Terminal
   • Critical: Claude CLI must be started through this extension's command, not manually
   • Important: Only works with VS Code's integrated terminal, not external terminals

3. Automatic Response

   • When a dialog appears in the VS Code terminal, automatically waits (configurable delay)
   • Status bar changes to Wait Xs animation with countdown
   • Automatically sends appropriate response (1 or 2)
   • All monitoring and responses happen within VS Code

Manual Trigger

If automatic detection doesn't work:

• Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Auto Responder: Trigger Auto-Response
• Copy dialog text for analysis

Command Reference

Configuration

VS Code Settings

Access via Ctrl+, → Search "Claude Auto Responder":

Core Settings

• autoResponseDelaySeconds (default: 5): Number of seconds to wait before sending auto-response (1-300 seconds)
• enableDontAskAgain (default: ON): Enable auto-response for 'Yes, and don't ask again this session' with '2'

Continuous Mode

• enableContinuousMode (default: OFF): Enable continuous mode for autonomous long-term operations
• continuousTimeoutMinutes (default: 30): Minutes to wait before sending 'Continue.' in continuous mode (1-180 minutes)
• enableFastResponsePause (default: ON): Enable auto-pause when Claude responds too quickly repeatedly
• fastResponseTimeoutSeconds (default: 3): Seconds threshold for considering a response as 'fast' (1-10 seconds)
• fastResponseLimit (default: 5): Number of consecutive fast responses before auto-pausing (2-20 times)
• enableUsageLimitAutoSwitch (default: OFF): Auto-switch to Continuous mode when usage limit is reached

Logging & Monitoring

• logSkippedQuestions (default: ON): Log skipped questions and responses to .claude-skipped-questions.log
• enableTerminalBufferRefresh (default: ON): Periodically refresh terminal buffer with arrow down key every 60 seconds

Safety Features

• ignoreDestructiveCommandsDetection (default: OFF): Ignore destructive command detection and proceed with auto-response
• customBlacklist (default: empty): Custom list of destructive command patterns to detect (regex supported)

System Integration

• idleSleepPreventionMinutes (default: 10): Minutes of idle time before automatically pausing sleep prevention (1-60 minutes)

Debug Mode

For detailed log output:

• Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Auto Responder: Toggle Debug Mode
• Check logs in VS Code's "Output" → "Extension Host"

Log Files

Terminal output is recorded in:

• Terminal Output: .claude-output.log (auto-rotates at 100 lines, cleaned for readability)
• Response Log: .claude-skipped-questions.log (contains actual Claude dialog content and responses)
• Fallback: /tmp/claude-output-[timestamp].log
• Note: Files are automatically cleaned up when extension deactivates

Technical Specifications

Architecture

• File-based Monitoring: Uses script command to log terminal output to file
• Real-time Detection: Unified 1-second interval monitoring with asynchronous I/O operations
• Low-level Input: Sends characters individually (no Enter key) to handle dialog boxes
• Performance Optimized: Cache system and rate limiting prevent UI freezing

OS Support

• macOS: script -q [file] bash -c "claude --continue || claude" + caffeinate
• Linux: script -q -c "claude --continue || claude" [file] + systemd-inhibit
• Windows: (claude --continue; if (!$?) { claude }) | Tee-Object + powercfg

Destructive Command Detection Patterns

/rm\s+-rf/i
/:\(\)\s*\{\s*:\s*\|\s*:\s*&\s*\}\s*;?\s*:/i  // fork bomb
/dd\s+if=\/dev\/zero\s+of=\/dev\/sda/i
/mv\s+\/\s/i
/>\s*\/etc\/passwd/i
/mkfs\./i
/drop\s+database\s+/i  // database operations
/delete\s+from\s+\w+\s*;?\s*$/i  // DELETE without WHERE

Troubleshooting

Claude CLI Won't Start

1. Check if Claude CLI is installed: claude --version
2. Verify claude command is in PATH

Auto-detection Not Working

1. Enable Debug Mode and check logs
2. Verify .claude-output.log file is created
3. Try manual trigger (Claude Auto Responder: Trigger Auto-Response)
4. Important: Ensure Claude was started via extension command, not manually

Dialog Not Recognized

1. Copy dialog text
2. Use Claude Auto Responder: Trigger Auto-Response → Analyze for manual analysis

Security

Destructive Command Protection

• Cancels auto-response for proposals containing dangerous commands
• Shows VS Code warning notification (not modal popup)
• Requires manual confirmation for safety

Privacy

• Terminal output saved only to local files
• Automatically deleted when extension deactivates
• No external server communication

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details