SLOPSHOPPER

replay-theater

Replay Theater: step through the file edits Claude made in the last turn, one diff at a time.

newsamplepanebandguardcommand
A shopper browsing a rack in a slop shop
Preview · a replayed session in a sandbox
claude · ~/work/app · replay-theater
│ ┃ Replay Theater ✕ › fix the failing auth test and add an audit log call │ ┃ ╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮ │ ┃ │ ▶ Replay Theater step 1 of 3 │ ⏺ Read(src/auth.ts) │ ┃ │ 1 2 3 │ ⎿ Read 6 lines │ ┃ │ src/auth.ts │ ⏺ Update(src/auth.ts) │ ┃ │ Edit +2 -1 │ ⎿ Added 2 lines, removed 1 line │ ┃ │ │ ⏺ Bash(bun test) │ ┃ │ - if (!claims) throw new Error('invalid… │ ⎿ 3 pass, 1 fail │ ┃ │ + if (!claims || claims.exp < Date.now(… │ │ ┃ │ + await audit('refresh', claims.sub) │ ● Done. refresh now rejects expired claims and logs an audit event. │ ┃ │ │ │ ┃ │ [ ◀ Prev ] [ Next ▶ ] [ Close ] │ ✻ Worked for 42s · done 4:20 PM │ ┃ ╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯ │ › /replay │ ⎿ replay-theater: Replay Theater: 3 edits │ │ ▶ Replay: 3 edits (press r) [ Replay ] ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── › ? for shortcuts

Draws

Band
▶ Replay: 3 edits (press r) [ Replay ]
Pane · Replay Theater
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ │ ▶ Replay Theater step 1 of 3 │ │ 1 2 3 │ │ src/auth.ts │ │ Edit +2 -1 │ │ │ │ - if (!claims) throw new Error('invalid token') │ │ + if (!claims || claims.exp < Date.now() / 1000) throw … │ │ + await audit('refresh', claims.sub) │ │ │ │ [ ◀ Prev ] [ Next ▶ ] [ Close ] │ ╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
README

Replay Theater

A Claude Code mod that lets you step through the file edits Claude made in the last turn, one diff at a time. We're sharing it as an example of a mod that records tool calls without changing them and gives you a pane with buttons to review them afterwards.

What this shows

While a turn runs, Replay Theater records each file edit Claude makes (the Edit, Write and MultiEdit tool calls): the file, and the text before and after. When the turn ends, a hint appears above the prompt:

▶ Replay: 5 edits (press r)  [ Replay ]

Open it, and a pane shows one edit at a time: the file, the tool, a count of added and removed lines, and a short diff in red and green. A strip of numbered cells shows every step, with the current one highlighted, and the header reads "step 2 of 5". Prev, Next and Close buttons move through the steps.

Replay Theater only watches. It never blocks, changes or delays an edit.

The patterns it demonstrates:

  • Recording from tool.call and always passing the call on with next(e).
  • Grouping work by turn with turn.start and turn.complete, and skipping subagent turns.
  • A slash command (/replay) registered from session.start and handled in command.run.
  • A Pane with Button elements and hotkeys, with a fallback to the AbovePrompt band.

Demo

After a rename, the hint above the prompt:

The Replay hint above the prompt after a turn with five edits

The pane, on step 1 of 5:

The Replay Theater pane showing step 1 of 5

A Write step for a new file, capped at 12 lines:

A Write step for a new file, with the diff capped at 12 lines

Inline above the prompt in an 80-column terminal:

The pane drawn inline in an 80-column terminal

How it was built

  • Model: built with Claude in Claude Code. The test runs and screenshots used Claude Sonnet 5. The mod itself doesn't call a model.
  • Prompt(s): the mod started as one of ten ideas Claude wrote for mods. This is the idea as written:

Replay Theater. Scrub through what Claude just did. After a turn, a pane opens with a timeline of every edit. Buttons step forward and back, and each step shows its diff. It uses ui.render on Pane, with Button elements, and it records each edit from tool.call. It builds on the built-in diff mod. A developer would install it to review a long run in a minute, and it makes a strong demo clip. A bigger project, because the timeline needs its own state.

The build prompt, which picked this idea and two others by number:

implement 1,2,7. give me zips for them. test them in claude code and get me screenshots of what they look like when used.

  • Transcript: not shared. The build ran in an internal workspace.
  • Iterations:
  • The idea had the pane open by itself after each turn. The built mod shows a one-line hint above the prompt instead, and opens the pane when you ask for it with /replay or the Replay button.
  • A pane only takes the keyboard while nothing else holds it. When the band's Replay button is pressed, the band holds the keys, so the mod hides the band and waits briefly before it opens the pane.
  • A Write can replace a whole file, so the diff keeps only one line of context around each change, and caps each step at 12 lines.
  • Tested in Claude Code: a rename across three files made 5 edits, and the pane stepped through all of them with Prev, Next and Close. A Write of a new file showed as one step.

Run it

Requirements:

  • Claude Code 2.1.287 or later, where mods load by default. The mod was built and tested on 2.1.280, and claude plugin validate passes on 2.1.285.
  • A terminal. The pane is placed inline above the prompt, or docked to the right in the fullscreen layout.

No environment variables or configuration.

Steps:

  1. Clone this repository and go to this folder's parent:
   git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-playground.git
   cd claude-code-playground/claude-code/mods
  1. Check the plugin:
   claude plugin validate ./replay-theater
  1. Try it for one session:
   claude --plugin-dir ./replay-theater

Or install it, with the other mods here, from the local marketplace in this folder (see the mods README):

   claude plugin marketplace add ./
   claude plugin install replay-theater@claude-code-playground-mods --scope user
  1. Ask Claude for a change that edits files, for example "rename the function greet to welcome everywhere".
  2. When the turn ends, open the replay in one of two ways:
  3. Type /replay and press Enter.
  4. Press ctrl+x then Tab to focus the band above the prompt, then press r (or Enter on the Replay button).
  5. In the pane:
KeyDoes
nNext step
pPrevious step
c or EscapeClose the pane

Mouse clicks on the buttons work too. The replay stays available until the next turn that edits files. A turn with no edits keeps the previous replay.

Notes / limitations

  • The diff shows up to 12 lines per step, then "… N more lines". Unchanged lines are kept only next to a change, and a skipped run shows as "⋯".
  • For Edit, the diff is between old_string and new_string, not the whole file. The file's line numbers aren't shown.
  • For Write, the old text is read from disk just before the write. Files over 400 lines are shown as all removed, then all added, with no line matching.
  • Edits are recorded when the tool is called. An edit that you then deny, or that fails, still shows in the replay.
  • The replay is kept in memory for the current session only. It is lost when Claude Code restarts, or when the plugin reloads.
  • Edits made by subagents are included in the main turn's replay.
  • Claude Code 2.1.280 has no MultiEdit tool. The mod handles MultiEdit, one step per edit, for builds that have it. That path is untested.
  • If the terminal can't place a pane, the replay is drawn in the band above the prompt instead. That fallback is untested, because every width we tried (80 and 120 columns) placed the pane.
  • The band above the prompt is shared. If another mod also draws there, only one of them shows.

Dependencies

NameVersionLicense (SPDX)Source
None

Third-party notices

None.


Shared as-is as part of claude-code-playground. Not an official Anthropic product; no support or maintenance is implied. See the root README and LICENSE.

Source 1 files
hooks/replay-theater.mjs 250 lines
1// Copyright 2026 Anthropic PBC
2// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
3//
4// Replay Theater: records the file edits Claude makes in a turn, then lets you
5// step through them in a pane, one diff at a time.
6//
7// Claude Code 2.1.280 function hooks. Load with --plugin-dir.
8
9const PANE_ID = "replay-theater";
10const MAX_DIFF_LINES = 12;
11const MAX_LCS_LINES = 400;
12const EDIT_TOOLS = new Set(["Edit", "Write", "MultiEdit"]);
13
14// Module state. `pending` fills during a turn; `replay` is the last finished
15// turn's steps, the ones the pane shows.
16const state = { pending: [], replay: [], index: 0, isOpen: false, inBand: false, turns: 0 };
17
18function relPath(cwd, path) {
19  if (!path) return "(unknown file)";
20  if (cwd && path.startsWith(cwd + "/")) return path.slice(cwd.length + 1);
21  return path;
22}
23
24function splitLines(text) {
25  if (text === undefined || text === null || text === "") return [];
26  const lines = String(text).split("\n");
27  if (lines.length > 1 && lines[lines.length - 1] === "") lines.pop();
28  return lines;
29}
30
31// A line diff. Small inputs get an LCS diff, so unchanged lines show as
32// context; large ones fall back to all-removed then all-added.
33function diffLines(oldText, newText) {
34  const a = splitLines(oldText);
35  const b = splitLines(newText);
36  if (a.length > MAX_LCS_LINES || b.length > MAX_LCS_LINES) {
37    return [...a.map((t) => ({ op: "-", t })), ...b.map((t) => ({ op: "+", t }))];
38  }
39  const n = a.length, m = b.length;
40  const dp = Array.from({ length: n + 1 }, () => new Array(m + 1).fill(0));
41  for (let i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--)
42    for (let j = m - 1; j >= 0; j--)
43      dp[i][j] = a[i] === b[j] ? dp[i + 1][j + 1] + 1 : Math.max(dp[i + 1][j], dp[i][j + 1]);
44  const out = [];
45  let i = 0, j = 0;
46  while (i < n && j < m) {
47    if (a[i] === b[j]) { out.push({ op: " ", t: a[i] }); i++; j++; }
48    else if (dp[i + 1][j] >= dp[i][j + 1]) out.push({ op: "-", t: a[i++] });
49    else out.push({ op: "+", t: b[j++] });
50  }
51  while (i < n) out.push({ op: "-", t: a[i++] });
52  while (j < m) out.push({ op: "+", t: b[j++] });
53  return trimContext(out);
54}
55
56// Keep one line of context around each change, so a long file's Write shows
57// the changed lines, not the whole file.
58function trimContext(lines) {
59  if (!lines.some((l) => l.op !== " ")) return lines.slice(0, MAX_DIFF_LINES);
60  const keep = lines.map((l, k) =>
61    l.op !== " " || lines[k - 1]?.op && lines[k - 1].op !== " " || lines[k + 1]?.op && lines[k + 1].op !== " ");
62  const out = [];
63  let skipped = false;
64  lines.forEach((l, k) => {
65    if (keep[k]) { if (skipped && out.length) out.push({ op: "~", t: "⋯" }); out.push(l); skipped = false; }
66    else skipped = true;
67  });
68  return out;
69}
70
71function countChanges(diff) {
72  let add = 0, del = 0;
73  for (const l of diff) { if (l.op === "+") add++; else if (l.op === "-") del++; }
74  return { add, del };
75}
76
77// Turns one tool call into one or more steps.
78async function stepsFor($, e) {
79  let cwd = "";
80  try { cwd = await $.session.cwd(); } catch { /* keep the full path */ }
81  const file = relPath(cwd, e.file_path);
82  if (e.tool === "Edit") {
83    return [{ tool: "Edit", file, diff: diffLines(e.old_string, e.new_string), note: e.replace_all ? "replace all" : "" }];
84  }
85  if (e.tool === "MultiEdit" && Array.isArray(e.edits)) {
86    return e.edits.map((ed, k) => ({
87      tool: "MultiEdit", file, diff: diffLines(ed.old_string, ed.new_string), note: `edit ${k + 1} of ${e.edits.length}`,
88    }));
89  }
90  if (e.tool === "Write") {
91    let before = "";
92    let isNew = true;
93    try {
94      if (e.file_path && (await $.fs.exists(e.file_path))) {
95        before = await $.fs.read(e.file_path);
96        isNew = false;
97      }
98    } catch { /* unreadable: show it as a new file */ }
99    return [{ tool: "Write", file, diff: diffLines(before, e.content), note: isNew ? "new file" : "rewrite" }];
100  }
101  return [];
102}
103
104function hintText() {
105  const n = state.replay.length;
106  return `▶ Replay: ${n} edit${n === 1 ? "" : "s"} (press r)`;
107}
108
109async function openReplay($) {
110  if (!state.replay.length) return false;
111  state.index = 0;
112  state.isOpen = true;
113  // The pane only takes the keyboard while nothing else holds it. Hide the
114  // band first (it held the keys if its button was pressed), then open.
115  $.ui.invalidate("ui.render");
116  await $.clock.sleep(200);
117  const rows = Math.min(MAX_DIFF_LINES + 8, 22);
118  const placed = await $.ui.open({ id: PANE_ID, title: "Replay Theater", focus: true, closeOnEscape: true, rows, columns: 58 });
119  // No room for a pane (a narrow terminal): draw the replay in the band.
120  state.inBand = placed?.isPlaced === false;
121  $.ui.invalidate("ui.render");
122  return true;
123}
124
125// The replay view: one step at a time. Drawn in the Pane, or in the band
126// above the prompt when the surface can't place a pane.
127function replayView($, e, inBand) {
128    const { Box, Text, Button } = $.ui.resolve(e);
129    const maxDiff = inBand ? Math.max(3, Math.min(MAX_DIFF_LINES, (e.maxRows || 20) - 7)) : MAX_DIFF_LINES;
130    const total = state.replay.length;
131    if (!total) return Text({ dimColor: true, children: "No edits to replay." });
132    const k = Math.max(0, Math.min(state.index, total - 1));
133    const step = state.replay[k];
134    const width = Math.max(40, (e.bodyColumns || 100) - 4);
135    const { add, del } = countChanges(step.diff);
136    const shown = step.diff.slice(0, maxDiff);
137
138    const diffRows = shown.map((l, n) => {
139      const color = l.op === "+" ? "green" : l.op === "-" ? "red" : undefined;
140      const line = `${l.op === "~" ? " " : l.op} ${l.t}`.slice(0, width);
141      return Text({ key: `d${n}`, color, dimColor: l.op === " " || l.op === "~", wrap: "truncate-end", children: line });
142    });
143    if (step.diff.length > maxDiff) diffRows.push(Text({ key: "more", dimColor: true, children: `  … ${step.diff.length - maxDiff} more lines` }));
144    if (!shown.length) diffRows.push(Text({ key: "empty", dimColor: true, children: "  (no line changes)" }));
145
146    // The step list: one cell per step, the current one highlighted.
147    const strip = state.replay.map((s, n) =>
148      Text({ key: `s${n}`, inverse: n === k, color: n === k ? "cyan" : undefined, dimColor: n !== k, children: ` ${n + 1} ` }));
149
150    const go = (to) => { state.index = Math.max(0, Math.min(to, total - 1)); $.ui.invalidate("ui.render"); };
151    const close = () => {
152      state.isOpen = false;
153      if (!state.inBand) $.ui.close({ id: PANE_ID });
154      state.inBand = false;
155      $.ui.invalidate("ui.render");
156    };
157
158    return Box({
159      flexDirection: "column", borderStyle: "round", borderColor: "magenta", paddingX: 1,
160      children: [
161        Box({ flexDirection: "row", justifyContent: "space-between", children: [
162          Text({ bold: true, color: "magenta", children: "▶ Replay Theater" }),
163          Text({ bold: true, children: `step ${k + 1} of ${total}` }),
164        ] }),
165        Box({ flexDirection: "row", children: strip }),
166        Text({ bold: true, color: "cyan", wrap: "truncate-start", children: step.file }),
167        Box({ flexDirection: "row", gap: 2, children: [
168          Text({ dimColor: true, children: `${step.tool}${step.note ? " · " + step.note : ""}` }),
169          Text({ color: "green", children: `+${add}` }),
170          Text({ color: "red", children: `-${del}` }),
171        ] }),
172        Box({ flexDirection: "column", marginTop: 1, children: diffRows }),
173        Box({ flexDirection: "row", gap: 2, marginTop: 1, children: [
174          Button({ key: "prev", label: "◀ Prev", hotkey: "p", onPress: () => go(k - 1) }),
175          Button({ key: "next", label: "Next ▶", hotkey: "n", autoFocus: true, onPress: () => go(k + 1) }),
176          Button({ key: "close", label: "Close", hotkey: "c", onPress: close }),
177        ] }),
178      ],
179    });
180}
181
182export function register(on, options) {
183  // Slash command: /replay opens the pane.
184  on("session.start", async ($, e, next) => {
185    const r = await next(e);
186    await $.command.register({ name: "replay", description: "Replay Theater: step through the last turn's file edits" });
187    return r;
188  });
189
190  on("command.run", { command: "replay" }, async ($, e) => {
191    const opened = await openReplay($);
192    return { text: opened ? `Replay Theater: ${state.replay.length} edits` : "Replay Theater: no edits in the last turn." };
193  });
194
195  // Record each edit, then let it run. Never blocks the call.
196  on("tool.call", async ($, e, next) => {
197    if (EDIT_TOOLS.has(e.tool)) {
198      try {
199        const steps = await stepsFor($, e);
200        state.pending.push(...steps);
201      } catch { /* recording must never stop the edit */ }
202    }
203    return next(e);
204  });
205
206  on("turn.start", ($, e, next) => {
207    if (!e.agentId) state.pending = [];
208    return next(e);
209  });
210
211  // At the end of a main-loop turn, the pending edits become the replay.
212  on("turn.complete", async ($, e, next) => {
213    const r = await next(e);
214    if (e.agentId || !state.pending.length) return r;
215    state.replay = state.pending;
216    state.pending = [];
217    state.index = 0;
218    state.turns++;
219    $.ui.invalidate("ui.render");
220    return r;
221  });
222
223  // The band above the prompt: the hint and a button that opens the pane.
224  on("ui.render", { component: "AbovePrompt" }, ($, e, next) => {
225    if (state.isOpen && state.inBand) return replayView($, e, true);
226    if (!state.replay.length || state.isOpen) return next(e);
227    const { Box, Text, Button } = $.ui.resolve(e);
228    return Box({
229      flexDirection: "row", gap: 2, paddingX: 1,
230      children: [
231        Text({ color: "magenta", bold: true, children: hintText() }),
232        Button({ key: "open-replay", label: "Replay", hotkey: "r", onPress: () => openReplay($) }),
233      ],
234    });
235  });
236
237  // The pane.
238  on("ui.render", { component: "Pane" }, ($, e, next) => {
239    if (e.requestId !== PANE_ID) return next(e);
240    return replayView($, e, false);
241  });
242
243  // The person closed the pane (Escape): keep our flag in step.
244  on("ui.close", ($, e, next) => {
245    if (e.id === PANE_ID || e.requestId === PANE_ID) state.isOpen = false;
246    $.ui.invalidate("ui.render");
247    return next(e);
248  });
249}
250