Claude Chill: Fix Claude Code's Flickering in Terminal

Summary

A PTY proxy that tames Claude Code's massive terminal updates using VT-based rendering. The Problem Claude Code uses synchronized output to update the terminal atomically. It wraps output in sync markers ( \x1b[?2026h ... \x1b[?2026l ) so the terminal renders everything at once without flicker. The problem: Claude Code sends entire screen redraws in these sync blocks - often thousands of lines. Your terminal receives a 5000-line atomic update when only 20 lines are visible. This causes lag, flicker, and makes scrollback useless since each update clears history. The Solution claude-chill sits between your terminal and Claude Code: Intercepts sync blocks - Catches those massive atomic updates VT-based rendering - Uses a VT100 emulator to track screen state and renders only the differences Preserves history - Accumulates content in a buffer for lookback Enables lookback - Press a key to pause Claude and view the full history buffer Installation cargo install --path crates/claude-chill Usage claude-chill claude claude-chill -- claude --verbose # Use -- for command flags Command Line Help $ claude-chill --help A PTY proxy that tames Claude Code's massive terminal updates Usage: claude-chill [OPTIONS] <COMMAND> [ARGS]... Arguments: <COMMAND> Command to run (e.g., "claude") [ARGS]... Arguments to pass to the command Options: -H, --history <HISTORY_LINES> Max lines stored for lookback (default: 100000) -k, --lookback-key <LOOKBACK_KEY> Key to toggle lookback mode, quote to prevent glob expansion (default: "[ctrl][6]") -a, --auto-lookback-timeout <AUTO_LOOKBACK_TIMEOUT> Auto-lookback timeout in ms, 0 to disable (default: 5000) -h, --help Print help -V, --version Print version Examples # Basic usage claude-chill claude # Pass arguments to claude claude-chill -- claude --verbose # Custom history size claude-chill -H 50000 claude # Custom lookback key claude-chill -k " [f12] " claude # Disable auto-lookback (see below) claude-chill -a 0 claude # Combine options with claude argu...