claude-chill/README.md

claude-chill

A PTY proxy that reduces terminal flicker by truncating synchronized output blocks.

The Problem

Claude Code (and similar tools) use synchronized output (\x1b[?2026h / \x1b[?2026l) to update the terminal atomically. When these blocks contain thousands of lines, some terminals struggle to render them smoothly, causing visible flicker.

The Solution

claude-chill sits between your terminal and the child process, intercepting synchronized output blocks and truncating them to a configurable number of lines. This keeps atomic updates small enough for smooth rendering while preserving full history for lookback.

Installation

cargo install --path crates/claude-chill

Usage

claude-chill <command> [args...]

# Example: wrap Claude Code
claude-chill claude

# Example: wrap any command
claude-chill bash

Environment Variables

• CHILL_MAX_LINES - Max lines per sync block (default: 100)
• CHILL_HISTORY - Max history lines for lookback (default: 100000)

Lookback Mode

Press Ctrl+Shift+PgUp to dump the full history buffer to the terminal.

How It Works

1. Creates a PTY pair and spawns the child process
2. Intercepts all output from the child
3. Detects synchronized output blocks (between ?2026h and ?2026l)
4. For "full redraw" blocks (containing clear screen + cursor home):
   • Stores full content in history buffer
   • Outputs only the last N lines
5. Passes all other content through unchanged

License

MIT