claude-hl

claude-hl

Syntax colours for shell commands in Claude Code's output. Like Codex does it.

Claude Code shows inline commands in one flat colour. git commit -m "fix" --no-verify
is just a string. claude-hl sits between Claude Code and your terminal and paints
the command blue, the flags pink, the string gold. Claude Code itself runs
unchanged, so hooks, skills, MCP, permissions and /rc all keep working.

Install

Needs a Rust toolchain (rustup.rs).

That drops claude-hl into ~/.cargo/bin, which rustup already put on your
PATH. Or clone and build it yourself:

One dependency (libc), one 411 KB binary. Built and used on macOS; Linux should work but hasn't been tried.

Use

That's it. There's nothing to configure.

Tweak

claude-hl --selftest prints a sample so you can check colours without starting
Claude. claude-hl --themes prints that sample once per theme, so you can pick
one by eye. claude-hl --version prints the wrapper's own version; every other
argument goes to Claude.

The screenshot at the top is the default codex theme. Here is
the same session in tokyonight.

Why is there a remap at all?

Claude Code's inline code (like this) always uses the stock lavender, even
with a custom theme. The markdown renderer looks the theme up by name and never
sees your overrides. claude-hl already knows every cell's colour, so it swaps
that lavender for something that fits each theme. Set your own pair if you
disagree with the pick.

Why is a paragraph faint?

Claude Code sometimes prints its own planning note, a paragraph that opens with
Private or Privately and sits between blank rows. claude-hl draws that
whole paragraph in italic at half brightness, so the real answer stands out.
CLAUDE_HL_PRIVATE swaps half brightness for a colour of your choice. It asks your
terminal for…