- Pin every basic-tier entry to an exact published version (npm @x.y.z, uvx @x.y.z, docker :tag). Unpinned npx -y <pkg> means a package compromised AFTER we ship auto-upgrades into every user; a pin bounds supply-chain compromise to versions we actually reviewed. - Drop firecrawl from the seed (19 entries). npm publish rights are held solely by hello_sideguide/sideguide.dev, which has no visible relationship to firecrawl.dev, while the package is presented as official. Publisher identity we cannot tie to the vendor is exactly what this catalog must not execute on a user's machine. Retained in the research pool pending confirmation. - postgres: ship --access-mode=restricted, not unrestricted. A curated catalog must not default to handing an LLM write access to your DB. - Add last_release (ISO date, from the live registry) so the UI can show freshness; postgres-mcp and mcp-obsidian are both ~14mo stale.
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:
| 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.appin a terminal.
Run from source
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 (soClaudeandClaude-Workboth show up) and finds Claude Code's user-scope config at~/.claude.json(the fileclaude mcp addwrites). 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
mcpServersblock, 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
.jsonfile 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
commandis 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
.appmay 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— regeneratesicons/app.icnsandicons/app.icofrom source PNGs.
Building from source
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:
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.