CLACOROO, a control panel for Claude Code
A desktop app that puts a graphical interface on top of every configuration file Claude Code reads. This page covers how we built it and why we made the calls we made.
CLACOROO is a desktop application built with Electron that manages Claude Code plugins, marketplaces, skills, agents, MCP servers, hooks, quotas and API keys through a visual interface, with no CLI commands to memorise. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, ships under the AGPL v3 licence and is developed by MAXYMIZE.
Visit the CLACOROO website Full gallery, documentation and downloads for macOS, Windows and Linux.
The problem it solves
Claude Code keeps its configuration in a set of JSON files inside the user home directory. Plugins, marketplaces, skills, agents, MCP servers, hooks: each one sits in a different file with a different shape. Changing anything means either remembering the right command or opening the files and editing them by hand.
With two or three plugins that is fine. Once an installation grows, working out what is active and what broke means opening files one at a time.
We took the least invasive route: CLACOROO does not replace your configuration, it shows it to you. Every screen maps to files that stay where they are and keep working even if you uninstall the app.
The decisions that mattered
These are the calls that decided whether the project would work. We describe them because it is the same reasoning we bring to client work.
No internal database, only the real files
The easy design here is to keep internal state and sync it now and then. We went the other way. CLACOROO reads the original files when it needs them and writes back to those. Anyone who prefers editing by hand can carry on without the app complaining, and if you uninstall it one day there is nothing left to clean up.
Saves that never drop unknown keys
A configuration file may hold keys added by newer versions of the tool, or by other programs entirely. Rewriting it from scratch would wipe them. Every save touches only the fields the interface actually manages. It costs extra code on every write path, and it is the only acceptable behaviour.
No write access to credentials at all
OAuth account credentials are the one thing the app must never be able to break. Account and authentication screens show status and expiry, and that is it: the code to write to them simply does not exist. It would be embarrassing for a management tool to lock you out of the thing it manages.
Embedded terminal running a real pty
The terminal inside the app opens an actual pty process through node-pty and renders it with xterm. We could have simulated command output and saved ourselves a native module that needs recompiling per operating system. But with simulation, interactive commands stop working, colours disappear and control sequences break.
Estimating how much context your configuration eats
The dashboard works out how much of the context window the active configuration consumes: skills indexed from frontmatter, system prompt, agents, memory files, MCP servers. Nothing was showing this before. It is the kind of number that changes how you work, because otherwise you watch the space run out without knowing where it went.
What it is built with
An app that has to read the user filesystem and spawn system processes was never going to be a web page. After that, most of the choices followed on their own.
Application
- Electron
- Node.js
- JavaScript
- Separate main and renderer processes
Embedded terminal
- node-pty
- xterm.js
- fit addon
- web-links addon
Distribution
- electron-builder
- Signed macOS DMG
- Homebrew Cask
- Windows and Linux builds
Quality
- patch-package
- Automated locale audit
- Smoke tests
- AGPL v3 licence
What this means for your project
If you are deciding who to trust with similar work, these are the problems we have already banged our heads against.
- Desktop apps that have to coexist with tools already installed on the machine, without asking anyone to change how they work.
- Interfaces built on top of existing systems, where the system has to stay fully usable without our interface in the picture.
- Packaging and signing for macOS, Windows and Linux, including publishing to package managers such as Homebrew.
- Internal tooling for development teams, where what counts is the hours saved every week.
Frequently asked questions
What is CLACOROO?
CLACOROO is a desktop app that gives Claude Code configuration a graphical interface: plugins, marketplaces, skills, agents, MCP servers, hooks, usage statistics and quotas. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux and is developed by MAXYMIZE. The name comes from CLAude COde COntrol ROOm.
Is CLACOROO free?
Yes. It ships under the AGPL v3 licence, so it is free software: you can use it, study it and modify it. The project runs on voluntary donations through GitHub Sponsors, Buy Me a Coffee and PayPal.
Does it modify my configuration files destructively?
No. Every save touches only the fields the interface manages and leaves the rest as it was, including keys the app does not recognise. It has read-only access to authentication credentials. If you prefer editing files by hand, carry on.
Can you build a similar tool for my team?
Yes, this is work we do regularly: cross-platform desktop apps, internal control panels, interfaces over systems already in use. We start by looking at which manual process eats the most time each week, then scope the work and quote it.
Need a tool built around how your team actually works?
Tell us which manual process is costing you the most time. On the first call we work out whether building it is worth it and what it would take.