# Better Claude Config (BCC)

A small, cross-platform GUI for editing the `mcpServers` block of Claude Desktop
and Claude Code installs — without ever hand-writing JSON.

BCC only ever touches `mcpServers` (and its own `_disabledMcpServers` parking
key). Every other key in your config is preserved verbatim, in its original
order. Each write is atomic and makes a timestamped backup first.

## Download (no Python required)

Pre-built self-contained binaries are attached to every [GitHub Release](../../releases):

| Platform | Download | Run |
|----------|----------|-----|
| macOS    | `BetterClaudeConfig-macOS.zip` | Unzip → drag **BetterClaudeConfig.app** to Applications |
| Windows  | `BetterClaudeConfig-Windows.zip` | Unzip → double-click **BetterClaudeConfig.exe** |
| Linux    | `BetterClaudeConfig-Linux.tar.gz` | Extract → run **BetterClaudeConfig** |

> **macOS Gatekeeper note:** the app is not notarized. On first launch, right-click → **Open**, or run `xattr -cr /Applications/BetterClaudeConfig.app` in a terminal.

## Verifying your download

BCC isn't code-signed — there's no budget for a paid certificate (macOS
Developer ID, Windows Authenticode). Instead, every release publishes a
`SHA256SUMS` file listing the checksum of each archive, detached-signed with
Ed25519 as `SHA256SUMS.sig`. Both are attached to the release alongside the
binaries.

**What this proves:** the file you downloaded is byte-for-byte what we
published, and the manifest itself was signed by our release key.

**What this does NOT do:** it does not make the binary "safe," and it does
**not** remove the macOS Gatekeeper or Windows SmartScreen warning — those
are only suppressed by a paid OS-vendor certificate, which this project
doesn't have. Verifying checksums is about detecting tampering in transit or
on a mirror, not about vouching for the software.

**Release signing public key** (Ed25519, base64, raw 32 bytes):

```
<PLACEHOLDER — AJ: paste the public key from the Catalog Console (#62) here>
```

### macOS / Linux

```bash
# From inside the folder you downloaded the release files into:
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS
```

If your `sha256sum` complains about missing files, download `SHA256SUMS`
into the same directory as the archive you downloaded — it lists every
platform's archive, and only the one(s) present will be checked.

To also verify the manifest's signature (optional, requires Python +
`pip install cryptography` and a checkout of this repo):

```bash
python3 scripts/sign_checksums.py verify \
  --sums SHA256SUMS --sig SHA256SUMS.sig \
  --pubkey-b64 "<the public key above>"
```

### Windows (PowerShell)

```powershell
Get-FileHash .\BetterClaudeConfig-Windows.zip -Algorithm SHA256
```

Compare the printed hash (case-insensitively) against the matching line in
`SHA256SUMS`.

### If a release has no `SHA256SUMS.sig`

The signing key is a repo secret that has to be configured manually; if a
release is missing the `.sig` file, the checksums themselves are still
valid and safe to check against — the release workflow only skips signing,
never checksum generation.

## Run from source

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
python bcc.py
```

(Python 3.10+, PySide6 6.6+.)

## What it does

- **Auto-discovers installs** — scans the platform's app-support folder for any
  `Claude*` directory (so `Claude` and `Claude-Work` both show up) **and** finds
  Claude Code's user-scope config at `~/.claude.json` (the file `claude mcp add`
  writes). Use **Add config…** to point at any other file manually — e.g. a
  project's `.mcp.json`.
- **Form-based editing** — name, command, args (one per line), env vars, or for
  remote servers: URL, transport, and headers. No raw JSON.
- **Paste JSON — even broken JSON** — drop in any snippet from an MCP doc (full
  `mcpServers` block, inner map, or a single bare server object); it's parsed
  and merged. The paste box parses as you type and auto-repairs the stuff docs
  and chat windows love to break: markdown fences, surrounding prose, comments,
  trailing or missing commas, smart quotes, single quotes, unquoted keys, and
  unclosed braces — and tells you exactly what it fixed before you commit.
- **Drag & drop** a `.json` file onto the window to import servers from it.
- **Copy to ▸** — copy the selected server straight into your *other* install.
- **Active / Disabled sections** — servers are shown in two labelled lists with
  live counts, so a server that's switched off in the config is obvious at a
  glance. Toggle a server's checkbox to move it between sections (disabled
  servers are parked under `_disabledMcpServers`, which Claude ignores).
- **Dependency check + diagnostics** — each server shows whether its `command`
  is actually found on PATH:
  - ● green — found on the normal PATH; will work anywhere.
  - ▲ amber (**PATH-risk**) — found, but *only* in a location BCC added on top of
    the inherited PATH. It'll work when you launch Claude from a terminal, but a
    double-clicked `.app` may not see it. This is the usual cause of "the tool
    says it's fine but Claude won't start the server." One click on **Use full
    path ↳** rewrites the bare command (`npx`) to its absolute path so any launch
    finds it.
  - ● red (**broken**) — not found anywhere.
  - ◆ blue — remote (url) server. **Test connection** does a live reachability
    check on a background thread (any HTTP response = reachable).

  Each section header shows a **broken / PATH-risk count badge**, and selecting a
  flagged server auto-opens a **Details** panel with a full, copy-pasteable
  report: which command resolved to what, tailored install hints, and the exact
  PATH that was searched (with `+` marking the dirs BCC added). **Re-check**
  re-scans PATH after you install something; **Copy diagnostics** grabs the whole
  report for a bug report.

After saving, **restart that Claude install** for changes to take effect.

## Config locations it scans

**Claude Desktop**

| OS      | Base it scans for `Claude*`      |
|---------|----------------------------------|
| macOS   | `~/Library/Application Support`  |
| Windows | `%APPDATA%`                      |
| Linux   | `~/.config`                      |

**Claude Code** (all platforms): `~/.claude.json` (user scope). If servers are
found parked in `~/.claude/settings.json` — where Claude Code ignores them — that
file is also listed, marked *legacy*, so you can copy them over.

## Files

- `bcc.py` — the GUI.
- `bcc_core.py` — all the file/JSON/validation/dependency logic (no GUI deps).
- `test_core.py` — unit suite for the core (`python test_core.py`).
- `bcc.spec` — PyInstaller build spec (cross-platform).
- `scripts/build_icons.py` — regenerates `icons/app.icns` and `icons/app.ico` from source PNGs.
- `scripts/sign_checksums.py` — generates and Ed25519-signs the release `SHA256SUMS` manifest (see [Verifying your download](#verifying-your-download)).

## Building from source

```bash
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
python scripts/build_icons.py   # regenerate icons if needed
pyinstaller bcc.spec
# macOS  → dist/BetterClaudeConfig.app
# Windows → dist/BetterClaudeConfig.exe
# Linux  → dist/BetterClaudeConfig
```

Releases are built automatically by GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/release.yml`) when a version tag is pushed:

```bash
git tag v1.0.0 && git push --tags
```

## Rebrand

The accent color is one constant (`ACCENT`) at the top of `bcc.py`.

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).