Installation

A step-by-step guide to get the Claude Code Agent Monitor up and running on your machine, with optional sections for importing history, running in a container, and using the native desktop app (macOS & Windows).

Requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18+ (22+ recommended)	Required for server and client
npm	9+	Comes with Node.js
Claude Code	2.x+	Required for hook integration
Python	3.6+	Optional — statusline utility only
Git	Any	For cloning the repository

Step 1 — Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/hoangsonww/Claude-Code-Agent-Monitor.git
cd Claude-Code-Agent-Monitor

Step 2 — Install dependencies

npm run setup

This installs all server and client dependencies in a single command. It is equivalent to:

npm install
cd client && npm install

Or via Makefile (also installs MCP dependencies):

make setup

Step 3 — Start the dashboard

npm run dev

This starts two processes concurrently:

Process	URL	Description
Express server	http://localhost:4820	API, WebSocket, SQLite
Vite dev server	http://localhost:5173	React frontend with HMR

Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Tip

When you run the dashboard directly on the host with npm run dev or npm start, the server automatically writes the Claude Code hook configuration to ~/.claude/settings.json. If you run the dashboard in Docker or Podman, install hooks from the host with npm run install-hooks after the container is up.

Step 4 — Start a Claude Code session

Start a new Claude Code session from any directory after the dashboard server is running. The hooks will fire automatically and your sessions, agents, and events will appear in real-time.

# In a separate terminal, from any project directory:
claude

Verification

After starting a Claude Code session, you should see:

Sessions page — your session listed with status Waiting (a fresh CLI sitting at the prompt) or Active (mid-turn)
Agent Board — a Main Agent card in the Waiting column until you type your first message; it flips to Working on UserPromptSubmit / PreToolUse and back to Waiting after each Stop
Activity Feed — events streaming in as Claude Code uses tools
Dashboard — stats updating in real-time
Settings page — model pricing rules, hook configuration status, data export and cleanup tools

If nothing appears after 30 seconds, see SETUP.md.

PWA install (optional)

The dashboard is a Progressive Web App. After opening it in a supported browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox), you can install it to your dock / home screen:

Look for the install icon (⊕) in the browser address bar, or open the browser menu → "Install app"
Once installed, the dashboard launches in its own window with no browser chrome
Offline support: previously visited pages and assets are served from the Service Worker cache when the network is unavailable

The landing page and wiki are also installable PWAs with their own manifests and service workers — visit each in a browser to install independently.

Step 5 — (Optional) Import existing Claude Code history

The server automatically imports every session under ~/.claude/projects/ on startup, so if you've used Claude Code on this machine before, your historical sessions, agents, events, token counts, and cost totals should already be visible in the Sessions list.

To bring in history from another machine, a backup, or a .tar.gz archive a teammate sent you, use Settings → Import History in the UI. It supports three modes:

flowchart LR
    UI["Settings →<br/>Import History"] --> M1["Rescan default folder<br/>~/.claude/projects"]
    UI --> M2["Scan a folder<br/>any absolute path"]
    UI --> M3["Upload files<br/>.jsonl / .zip / .tar.gz / .gz"]
    M1 --> P["Same parser as live<br/>hook ingestion"]
    M2 --> P
    M3 --> P
    P --> DB[("SQLite<br/>sessions + tokens + cost")]

    style UI fill:#a855f7,stroke:#c084fc,color:#fff
    style P fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#fbbf24,color:#000
    style DB fill:#10b981,stroke:#34d399,color:#fff

Re-imports are idempotent: sessions are deduplicated by UUID and compaction baselines preserve pre-compaction token totals, so running the importer twice never double-counts tokens or cost.

Verify it worked by opening the Analytics page and checking that per-model token totals and estimated cost look correct. Full walkthrough with per-OS archive commands in SETUP.md → Importing existing Claude Code history.

Optional: tune import limits

If you regularly import very large archives, these environment variables can be raised (the defaults are generous for typical use):

Variable	Default	Purpose
`CCAM_IMPORT_MAX_BYTES`	1 GB	Maximum size per uploaded file
`CCAM_IMPORT_MAX_FILES`	2000	Maximum files per upload request
`CCAM_IMPORT_MAX_EXTRACT_BYTES`	4 GB	Ceiling on uncompressed bytes per archive (zip-bomb guard)

Set them before npm run dev or npm start:

CCAM_IMPORT_MAX_EXTRACT_BYTES=17179869184 npm start   # allow 16 GB extraction

Production mode

To run as a single process serving the built client:

npm run build   # Build the React client
npm start       # Start Express serving client/dist on port 4820

Open http://localhost:4820 in your browser.

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) (optional)

If you'd rather not keep a terminal window open, the project also ships an Electron 35-based native desktop app (the desktop/ workspace), available for both macOS and Windows. It embeds the Express server in-process, renders the built React client in a BrowserWindow, registers a menu-bar / notification-area (tray) icon, and offers a one-click "Open at Login" toggle. Everything you'd see in the browser at localhost:4820 lives inside a single app you install once — distributed as a macOS .app (in a .dmg) and a Windows .exe (an NSIS installer plus a no-install portable build).

Prerequisites

For…	You need
Downloading a pre-built installer (macOS)	macOS — nothing else
Downloading a pre-built installer (Windows)	Windows 10/11 (x64) — nothing else
Building the DMG locally (macOS)	macOS, Node.js 18+ (22+ recommended), npm 9+, and Xcode command-line tools (`xcode-select --install`) so the native `better-sqlite3` module can be rebuilt for Electron's ABI
Building the `.exe` locally (Windows)	Windows, Node.js 18+ (22+ recommended), npm 9+. `better-sqlite3` is fetched as a prebuilt Electron binary by `npm run desktop:install`, so no Visual Studio C++ toolchain is needed in the common case. If the build does fail, `npm run desktop:install` prints the exact fix (Visual Studio Build Tools + "Desktop development with C++") plus a no-toolchain alternative and exits non-zero rather than failing silently

Way 1 — Download a pre-built installer

The fastest path. There are two flavours:

1a. From the latest GitHub Release (recommended — public, no sign-in)

Open Releases → latest and download the asset for your platform. CI publishes a new vX.Y.Z release automatically every time the version in package.json is bumped on master, so this link always points at the current shipping build.

Platform	Asset	Notes
macOS (Apple Silicon)	`ClaudeCodeMonitor-<ver>-arm64.dmg`	drag into `/Applications`
macOS (Intel)	`ClaudeCodeMonitor-<ver>-x64.dmg`	drag into `/Applications`
Windows (installer)	`ClaudeCodeMonitor-Setup-<ver>-x64.exe`	per-user install, no admin
Windows (portable)	`ClaudeCodeMonitor-<ver>-x64-portable.exe`	run without installing

1b. From the per-commit CI artifact (useful for testing master before it's tagged — sign-in required, 14-day retention)

Every green run of the desktop CI jobs uploads a packaged artifact — ClaudeCodeMonitor-dmg from the 🍎 macOS Desktop (DMG) job and ClaudeCodeMonitor-win from the 🪟 Windows Desktop (EXE) job:

Via the GitHub UI: open the latest passing run under Actions, scroll to Artifacts, and download ClaudeCodeMonitor-dmg (macOS) or ClaudeCodeMonitor-win (Windows).

Via the gh CLI:

gh run download <run-id> -R hoangsonww/Claude-Code-Agent-Monitor -n ClaudeCodeMonitor-dmg   # macOS
gh run download <run-id> -R hoangsonww/Claude-Code-Agent-Monitor -n ClaudeCodeMonitor-win   # Windows

Unzip the macOS artifact to get the .dmgs, or the Windows artifact to get the NSIS installer + portable .exes.

Then jump to Install the app.

Way 2 — Build the installer locally

From the project root, after git clone. electron-builder packages for the host OS, so build the macOS DMG on a Mac and the Windows .exe on Windows. The common prelude is the same:

npm run setup                # install root + client + vscode-extension deps
npm run build                # build the React client (the SPA the window loads)
npm run desktop:install      # install Electron + electron-builder into desktop/

# macOS (run on macOS):
npm run desktop:dmg:arm64    # fast single-arch DMG → desktop/release/

# Windows (run on Windows):
npm run desktop:win          # NSIS installer .exe → desktop/release/

The artifact lands in desktop/release/. Pick the build command that matches your goal:

Command	Platform / Architecture	Speed	Use when
`npm run desktop:dmg`	macOS — Universal (x64 + arm64)	Slow	Building a release DMG for everyone
`npm run desktop:dmg:arm64`	macOS — Apple Silicon only	Fast (~1 min)	Building for your own Apple Silicon Mac
`npm run desktop:dmg:x64`	macOS — Intel only	Fast (~1 min)	Building for your own Intel Mac
`npm run desktop:win`	Windows — NSIS installer `.exe` (x64)	—	Building the per-user installer
`npm run desktop:win:portable`	Windows — portable `.exe` (x64)	—	Building the no-install portable build
`npm run desktop:install`	—	—	Install Electron + electron-builder deps; preflights the native `better-sqlite3` build and prints actionable setup help on failure
`npm run desktop:build`	—	—	TypeScript compile only (`out/`)
`npm run desktop:dev`	—	—	Build, then launch Electron locally
`npm run desktop:test`	—	—	Smoke test (spawn Electron, probe `/api/health`)

Important

DMGs build on macOS; Windows .exes build on Windows — electron-builder packages for the host OS. On macOS, the universal npm run desktop:dmg build is intentionally slow — it builds the app twice (one tree per architecture), merges both with @electron/universal, then signs every binary. Expect the silent packaging arch=universal step to sit for several minutes. When building for your own Mac, use desktop:dmg:arm64 or desktop:dmg:x64 — a single architecture finishes in roughly a minute. CI already builds both the universal DMG and the Windows .exes for you (see Way 1).

Install the app

macOS. Each desktop:dmg* build wipes release/ and emits a single DMG — desktop:dmg:arm64 → …-arm64.dmg, desktop:dmg:x64 → …-x64.dmg, universal desktop:dmg → …-universal.dmg — and its mounted-volume title states the architecture (e.g. Claude Code Monitor (Apple Silicon)). Install the one matching your Mac: an x64 build on Apple Silicon makes macOS prompt for Rosetta.

open desktop/release/ClaudeCodeMonitor-*-arm64.dmg   # the arch you built

The DMG mounts — drag Claude Code Monitor into your Applications folder.
The DMG is ad-hoc signed, so macOS Gatekeeper shows a warning ("Apple could not verify…") on first launch. Strip the quarantine attribute, then open it:
```
xattr -cr "/Applications/Claude Code Monitor.app"
open "/Applications/Claude Code Monitor.app"
```
Alternatively, open → System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

Windows.

Run ClaudeCodeMonitor-Setup-<ver>-x64.exe. It installs per-user (no administrator elevation) and lets you pick the install directory — or run the *-portable.exe to launch without installing.
The installer is unsigned by default, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC" on first launch — click More info → Run anyway.
Launch from the Start menu / desktop shortcut.

Once running, the embedded server boots on port 4820 (or adopts an already-healthy server on 4820, or falls back to 4821–4829 / a random high port), the menu-bar / notification-area (tray) icon appears, and the dashboard window opens. Hooks are installed automatically on first boot — an install-only user does not need npm run install-hooks; just start a new Claude Code session. Closing the window hides it but keeps the server running; Quit from the tray exits.

Note

The packaged app stores its SQLite database and VAPID keys in a per-user app-data directory outside the app bundle / install dir — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude Code Monitor/data/ on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude Code Monitor\data\ on Windows. Your imported history and events therefore survive app reinstalls and updates (the Windows NSIS uninstaller keeps this data by default). (Older macOS builds kept the database inside the bundle, which is read-only once installed and code-signed — that broke History Import; it is now fixed. If you are upgrading from a pre-fix build, there is a one-time data gap: re-run Settings → Import History → Rescan once.)

Full user guide: DESKTOP.md. Contributor / architecture reference: desktop/README.md. Desktop-specific setup details (logs, auto-start, port adoption) are in SETUP.md → Desktop App Setup.

Optional: Local MCP server

If you want AI agents to call dashboard functionality through MCP tools, run the local MCP server in mcp/:

npm run mcp:install
npm run mcp:build
npm run mcp:start              # stdio (for MCP host integration)
npm run mcp:start:http         # HTTP + SSE server on port 8819
npm run mcp:start:repl         # interactive CLI with tab completion

The MCP server supports three transport modes:

graph LR
    HOST["MCP Host<br/>(Claude Code / Desktop)"] -->|"stdin/stdout"| STDIO["stdio mode<br/>mcp:start"]
    RC["Remote Client"] -->|"POST /mcp<br/>GET /sse"| HTTP["HTTP mode<br/>mcp:start:http<br/>:8819"]
    OP["Operator"] -->|"interactive CLI"| REPL["REPL mode<br/>mcp:start:repl"]

    STDIO --> API["Dashboard API<br/>http://127.0.0.1:4820/api/*"]
    HTTP --> API
    REPL --> API

    style STDIO fill:#6366f1,stroke:#818cf8,color:#fff
    style HTTP fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#fbbf24,color:#000
    style REPL fill:#a855f7,stroke:#c084fc,color:#fff

See mcp/README.md for host config, tool catalog, and safety flags.

To build the MCP server as a container image instead:

npm run mcp:docker:build
# or
npm run mcp:podman:build

Optional: Agent extension packs

This repository includes extension packs for both Claude Code and Codex.

Claude Code loads project extensions from:
- CLAUDE.md
- .claude/rules/
- .claude/skills/
- .claude/agents/
Codex project packs live under .codex/:
- AGENTS.md
- .codex/rules/
- .codex/agents/
- .codex/skills/

See .codex/README.md for Codex extension details.

Optional: VS Code extension

The Claude Code Agent Monitor is also available as a dedicated VS Code extension for seamless, integrated monitoring.

Features

Real-time Sidebar: Monitor agent status, health, and usage stats in the Activity Bar.
Pulse Status Bar: High-level session and agent counts in the bottom status bar.
Direct Navigation: Jump to specific dashboard pages or recent sessions.
Embedded Dashboard: Full dashboard interface within a native VS Code tab.

Installation

Open the vscode-extension folder in VS Code.

Install via the Marketplace or package it manually:

cd vscode-extension
npm install
# Generate .vsix for local install
npm run package

After installation, ensure the main dashboard server is running (npm run dev).
Look for the Radar icon in your VS Code Activity Bar.

For advanced configuration, refer to the .vscode and vscode-extension directories.

Tip

Extension on VS Code Marketplace: Claude Code Agent Monitor

Container mode (Docker / Podman)

The repository includes both a multi-stage Dockerfile and a docker-compose.yml file. Docker and Podman are both supported.

Compose

# Docker Compose
docker compose up -d --build

# Podman Compose
CLAUDE_HOME="$HOME/.claude" podman compose up -d --build

Open http://localhost:4820 in your browser.

Plain Docker / Podman

# Docker
docker build -t agent-monitor .
docker run -d --name agent-monitor \
  -p 4820:4820 \
  -v "$HOME/.claude:/root/.claude:ro" \
  -v agent-monitor-data:/app/data \
  agent-monitor

# Podman
podman build -t agent-monitor .
podman run -d --name agent-monitor \
  -p 4820:4820 \
  -v "$HOME/.claude:/root/.claude:ro" \
  -v agent-monitor-data:/app/data \
  agent-monitor

Container notes

Mount	Purpose
`~/.claude:/root/.claude:ro`	Lets the server import legacy Claude session history
`agent-monitor-data:/app/data`	Persists the SQLite database across container restarts

Important

Claude Code hooks run on the host, not inside the container. After the container is healthy on http://localhost:4820, run npm run install-hooks on the host so Claude Code posts hook events back to the containerized server. The installer refuses to run inside a container (issue #193) to avoid writing a container-internal handler path into a bind-mounted ~/.claude; use CCAM_ALLOW_CONTAINER_HOOKS=1 only if you run Claude Code inside the same container.

Troubleshooting

`npm run setup` shows `better-sqlite3` errors

This is expected and non-fatal. better-sqlite3 is a native C++ module listed as an optional dependency. If prebuilt binaries are not available for your Node version or platform, npm will print gyp/compilation errors but still complete successfully.

At runtime the server uses this fallback chain:

better-sqlite3 — used when prebuilt binaries are available (Node 18/20/22 on Windows x64, macOS arm64/x64, Linux x64/arm64)
node:sqlite — Node.js built-in SQLite module, used automatically on Node 22+ when better-sqlite3 is unavailable

If you see an error box at startup saying "SQLite backend not available", either:

Upgrade to Node.js 22+ (recommended — zero native dependencies needed), or
Install build tools so better-sqlite3 can compile from source:
- Windows: npm install -g windows-build-tools or install Visual Studio Build Tools with the C++ workload
- macOS: xcode-select --install
- Linux: sudo apt install python3 make g++ (Debian/Ubuntu) or equivalent
Then run: npm rebuild better-sqlite3

Desktop build or install fails on the native dependency

Unlike the root server (which falls back to node:sqlite), the desktop app requires better-sqlite3 built for Electron's ABI. If that build can't happen, npm run desktop:install (and the desktop prebuild gate that runs before every desktop:* build) now stops with copy-pasteable setup help instead of a raw node-gyp trace or a runtime crash: it lists the per-OS C++ toolchain prerequisites (Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools + "Desktop development with C++"; macOS: xcode-select --install; Linux: build-essential + python3), notes that Node LTS 20/22 ship prebuilt binaries, and offers a no-toolchain alternative:

cd desktop
npm install --ignore-scripts
node node_modules/electron/install.js
npx electron-builder install-app-deps

`npm run dev` fails immediately

Ensure both server and client dependencies are installed:

npm run setup

If the error mentions a missing module like express or react, dependencies may be incomplete. Delete node_modules in both root and client/, then re-run setup:

rm -rf node_modules client/node_modules
npm run setup

Server starts but client shows a blank page

The Vite dev server and Express server run on different ports. Make sure both are running (npm run dev starts both). Open http://localhost:5173, not http://localhost:4820, during development.

No sessions appearing after starting Claude Code

See SETUP.md — Troubleshooting for detailed hook debugging steps.

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) issues

Symptom	Cause	Fix
"Apple could not verify…" on first launch (macOS)	The DMG is ad-hoc signed (no paid Apple Developer ID)	`xattr -cr "/Applications/Claude Code Monitor.app"`, then open it — or use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway
"Windows protected your PC" on first launch (Windows)	The `.exe` is unsigned by default, so SmartScreen prompts	Click More info → Run anyway
`npm run desktop:dmg` hangs on `packaging arch=universal` (macOS)	Not hung — the universal build merges two architectures and is intentionally slow	Wait it out, or use `npm run desktop:dmg:arm64` / `npm run desktop:dmg:x64` for a fast single-arch build
`entry file out/main.js does not exist`	`npm run clean` (in `desktop/`) deleted `out/`; `electron-builder` only packages, it does not compile	Re-run `npm run desktop:build` (or just use a `desktop:dmg` / `desktop:win` script, which chains the build)
Desktop window opens but is blank	The embedded server failed `/api/health` within 30 s	Check the desktop log (`~/Library/Logs/Claude Code Monitor/desktop.log` on macOS, `%APPDATA%\Claude Code Monitor\logs\desktop.log` on Windows), then tray → Restart Server
"Run Claude" says `claude` is not on your PATH	A Finder/Dock-launched macOS app only inherits launchd's minimal PATH, not your login-shell PATH (on Windows the process already inherits the user PATH)	The app recovers your login-shell PATH at startup so it can find and spawn the `claude` CLI. If it still fails, make sure `claude` is a real executable on your shell PATH — not a shell alias or function
Imported history vanished after updating the app	Older builds stored the database inside the (replaceable) `.app` bundle	Fixed — data now lives in the per-user app-data dir (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude Code Monitor/data/` on macOS, `%APPDATA%\Claude Code Monitor\data\` on Windows) and survives reinstalls/updates. After upgrading from a pre-fix build, re-run Settings → Import History → Rescan once

Ports

Service	Default	Override
Dashboard server	`4820`	`DASHBOARD_PORT=xxxx npm run dev`
Client dev server	`5173`	Edit `client/vite.config.ts`

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Installation

Requirements

Step 1 — Clone the repository

Step 2 — Install dependencies

Step 3 — Start the dashboard

Step 4 — Start a Claude Code session

Verification

PWA install (optional)

Step 5 — (Optional) Import existing Claude Code history

Optional: tune import limits

Production mode

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) (optional)

Prerequisites

Way 1 — Download a pre-built installer

Way 2 — Build the installer locally

Install the app

Optional: Local MCP server

Optional: Agent extension packs

Optional: VS Code extension

Features

Installation

Container mode (Docker / Podman)

Compose

Plain Docker / Podman

Container notes

Troubleshooting

`npm run setup` shows `better-sqlite3` errors

Desktop build or install fails on the native dependency

`npm run dev` fails immediately

Server starts but client shows a blank page

No sessions appearing after starting Claude Code

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) issues

Ports

FilesExpand file tree

INSTALL.md

Latest commit

History

INSTALL.md

File metadata and controls

Installation

Requirements

Step 1 — Clone the repository

Step 2 — Install dependencies

Step 3 — Start the dashboard

Step 4 — Start a Claude Code session

Verification

PWA install (optional)

Step 5 — (Optional) Import existing Claude Code history

Optional: tune import limits

Production mode

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) (optional)

Prerequisites

Way 1 — Download a pre-built installer

Way 2 — Build the installer locally

Install the app

Optional: Local MCP server

Optional: Agent extension packs

Optional: VS Code extension

Features

Installation

Container mode (Docker / Podman)

Compose

Plain Docker / Podman

Container notes

Troubleshooting

npm run setup shows better-sqlite3 errors

Desktop build or install fails on the native dependency

npm run dev fails immediately

Server starts but client shows a blank page

No sessions appearing after starting Claude Code

Desktop App (macOS & Windows) issues

Ports

`npm run setup` shows `better-sqlite3` errors

`npm run dev` fails immediately