better-claude-config/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Commands

# Install runtime dependency
pip install -r requirements.txt
python bcc.py          # run the GUI
python test_core.py    # run unit tests (23 tests, no GUI needed)

# Build a self-contained binary
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
python scripts/build_icons.py   # regenerate icons/app.icns + icons/app.ico if needed
pyinstaller bcc.spec
# macOS  → dist/BetterClaudeConfig.app
# Windows → dist/BetterClaudeConfig.exe
# Linux  → dist/BetterClaudeConfig

Requires Python 3.10+. Runtime dependency: PySide6>=6.6. Build-time: pyinstaller>=6.0, pillow>=10.0.

Architecture

The codebase is split into two layers:

bcc_core.py — All logic with no GUI imports. Contains:

• Profile / ServerEntry dataclasses (the data model)
• discover_profiles() — scans the platform's app-support directory for Claude* folders (Claude Desktop) and always adds ~/.claude/settings.json (Claude Code, cross-platform)
• load_config / extract_servers / apply_servers / write_config — the read/write pipeline; writes are atomic with rotating timestamped backups in .bcc_backups/
• parse_pasted_json() — accepts three JSON shapes (full config, inner map, or bare server object)
• check_dependency() / diagnostics_text() / pin_command_path() — PATH resolution logic; distinguishes "found on normal PATH" (ok) vs "found only on augmented PATH" (warn) vs "not found" (missing). Uses an lru_cache-memoized augmented_path() that extends the inherited PATH with common runtime locations (nvm, homebrew, cargo, volta, etc.)
• test_remote() — synchronous HTTP reachability check, intended to run off the UI thread

bcc.py — PySide6 GUI that is a thin shell over bcc_core. Key classes:

• MainWindow — manages the profile combo, two server tables (active/disabled), action bar, and dirty state
• ServerEditor — right-panel form with a QStackedWidget for stdio vs remote pages; calls core.check_dependency() on every field change
• KeyValueTable — reusable widget for env vars and headers
• ConnTester(QThread) — background thread for remote reachability tests

The cardinal rule: apply_servers() only ever writes to mcpServers and _disabledMcpServers. All other keys in the user's config are preserved verbatim and in their original order.

Disabled servers are parked under _disabledMcpServers (which Claude Desktop ignores) so they can be re-enabled without losing their definition.

Packaging

• bcc.spec — PyInstaller spec; handles macOS (onedir → .app bundle) and Windows/Linux (onefile). Platform-aware icon selection.
• icons/app.icns (macOS) and icons/app.ico (Windows) are pre-generated and committed; source PNGs are in icons/twin-gears/rounded/.
• scripts/build_icons.py — regenerates both icon files from source PNGs. Uses iconutil (macOS-only) for .icns, Pillow for .ico.
• .github/workflows/release.yml — builds on all three platforms on tag push, publishes as GitHub Release assets.

To release: git tag vX.Y.Z && git push --tags.

Key constants

• ACCENT at the top of bcc.py — the one constant to change for a rebrand
• KNOWN_FIELDS in bcc_core.py — fields the editor renders; anything else on a server object is preserved as _extra in ServerEditor
• DISABLED_KEY = "_disabledMcpServers" — the parking key for disabled servers
• MAX_BACKUPS = 15 — rolling backup limit per config file