claunch

Interactive launcher for Claude Code. Pick a saved preset or step through a curated set of flags, then claunch spawns claude with the right arguments and env vars.

No more remembering flag names. No more typing --model opus --permission-mode acceptEdits --effort high every session.

Install

npm install -g claunch

Requires Node >= 18 and claude on your PATH.

Usage

Interactive (no args)

claunch

  claunch

? What would you like to do?
> Launch with a preset
  Customize a new session
  Manage presets
  Exit

Launch a saved preset

claunch --preset power

Inline flags (skip the menu)

claunch --model opus --effort high
claunch --model sonnet "fix the auth bug"

Preset management

claunch --list-presets
claunch --export-presets ~/backup.json
claunch --import-presets ~/shared.json

Starter presets

Seeded on first run at ~/.config/claunch/presets.json:

Name	Description	Flags
quick	Fast answers	model: sonnet
power	Deep work with auto-edit	model: opus, acceptEdits, effort: high, verbose
autonomous	Full auto with guardrails	model: opus, auto, maxTurns: 25, maxBudgetUsd: 5
review	Plan-only code review	model: opus, plan, effort: high

Create your own via the Customize flow — after stepping through the flags, you'll be asked if you want to save it.

Curated flag set

claunch exposes the flags that matter day-to-day, grouped into Core → Session → Output → Advanced. The wizard walks the categories in order and skips flags that only make sense when --print is enabled.

Category	Flags
Core	model, permissionMode, effort
Session	maxTurns, resume, continue, name
Output	print, outputFormat, inputFormat, maxBudgetUsd
Advanced	systemPrompt, appendSystemPrompt, allowedTools, disallowedTools, verbose, bare, addDir, mcpConfig

Most flags map to --arg passthrough. effort routes through the ANTHROPIC_EFFORT environment variable when spawning claude.

Config

Presets live at:

~/.config/claunch/presets.json

(Or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/claunch/presets.json if set.)

The file is plain JSON — safe to hand-edit, export, and share.

Develop

git clone https://github.com/conorluddy/claunch.git
cd claunch
npm install
npm run build
node dist/index.js

Watch mode: npm run dev.

License

MIT