Claude Code JSONL Editor

🚀 Interactive JSONL editor for Claude Code conversation files with real-time file system synchronization.

Why? Core Concept & Philosophy

Efficient Prompt Engineering Through Conversation Editing

Editing Claude Code logs (JSONL files) makes prompt engineering significantly more efficient through a powerful technique: output modification. This approach enables infinite iteration and refinement of AI interactions without starting from scratch.

The Philosophy

Traditional prompt engineering requires:

1. Write prompt → Get response → Analyze → Rewrite entire prompt → Repeat

Our approach enables:

1. Write prompt → Get response → Edit the response directly → Continue conversation → Infinite refinement

Why This Works

• Context Preservation: By editing assistant responses in the conversation log, you maintain the full context while perfecting the output
• Iterative Refinement: Transform mediocre responses into perfect ones without losing conversation flow
• Prompt Engineering Acceleration: Test different response styles and approaches by editing outputs, then use successful patterns in future prompts
• Training Data Creation: Build high-quality conversation datasets by refining real interactions
• Debugging Conversations: Fix errors or improve responses retroactively to understand what works

Practical Applications

• Template Creation: Edit responses to create reusable conversation templates
• Response Quality Control: Perfect Claude's outputs for documentation or examples
• Conversation Branching: Edit responses to explore different conversation paths
• Prompt Pattern Discovery: Identify what response styles work best for specific use cases
• Knowledge Base Building: Curate high-quality Q&A pairs from real interactions

By making conversation editing as simple as chat editing, this tool transforms how you work with AI conversations - from linear interactions to iterative masterpieces.

Features

• 📝 Interactive Chat Interface - Edit conversations in a familiar chat-style UI
• 💾 Real-time File Sync - Direct file system editing with automatic backups
• 🔧 Multi-file Support - Handle single files or entire directories
• ✏️ Rich Editing - Edit, copy, delete messages with inline editing
• 🌐 Network Access - Expose to network for remote editing
• 🎨 Beautiful CLI - Colorful, informative command-line interface
• 🔒 Safe Operations - Automatic backup creation before saves

Installation

One-Line Install (Recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/claude-code-jsonl-editor/main/install.sh | bash

After installation, reload your shell or add ~/.local/bin to your PATH:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Manual Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-jsonl-editor.git
cd claude-code-jsonl-editor

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the application
npm start

Quick Start

# Start with default samples directory
jsonl-editor

# Start with specific file
jsonl-editor -p ./conversation.jsonl

# Start with directory
jsonl-editor -p ./conversations

# Expose to network
jsonl-editor --expose

Upgrading

# Using the same install command will upgrade existing installation
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/claude-code-jsonl-editor/main/install.sh | bash

Uninstalling

# Download and run uninstall script
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/claude-code-jsonl-editor/main/uninstall.sh | bash

# Or if you have the repository
bash uninstall.sh

CLI Options

jsonl-editor [options]

Options:
  -p, --jsonl-path     Path to JSONL file or directory
  -P, --port           Server port (default: 3001)  
  --client-port        Client port (default: 5173)
  --host <host>              Host to bind to (default: localhost)
  --expose                   Expose to network (same as --host 0.0.0.0)
  --no-backup                Disable automatic backup creation
  --server-only              Start only the server
  --client-only              Start only the client  
  -v, --verbose              Enable verbose logging
  -q, --quiet                Suppress non-error output
  -h, --help                 Display help information

Examples

# Start with default samples
jsonl-editor

# Edit specific file
jsonl-editor -p ./conversation.jsonl

# Edit directory of files  
jsonl-editor -p ./jsonl-files

# Network access
jsonl-editor -p ./data --expose
jsonl-editor -p ./data --host 192.168.1.100

# Custom ports
jsonl-editor -p ./data --port 4000 --client-port 8080

# Server only mode
jsonl-editor -p ./data --server-only

# Verbose logging
jsonl-editor -p ./data -v

Project Structure

claude-code-jsonl-editor/
├── src/                    # Frontend source
│   ├── components/        # React/Preact components
│   ├── utils/            # Utilities and parsers
│   └── types.ts          # TypeScript definitions
├── samples/              # Default sample files
├── public/               # Static assets
├── server.js             # Express API server
├── start.js              # CLI entry point
└── package.json          # Project configuration

Development

# Start development with file watching
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Run server only
npm run server

# Run client only  
npm run client

API Endpoints

• GET /api/config - Get server configuration
• GET /api/files - List available files
• GET /api/files/:filename - Read file content
• POST /api/files/:filename - Save file content

File Format

The editor works with Claude Code JSONL files containing conversation entries:

{"type":"summary","summary":"General Project Development","leafUuid":"..."}
{"type":"user","message":{"role":"user","content":"Hello, claude-c