cc-dm-marketplace

cc-dm

Peer-to-peer direct messaging between Claude Code sessions.

What it does

Running multiple Claude Code sessions in parallel — a planner, a backend worker, a test runner — means context constantly needs to move between terminals. The default workflow is copy-paste: pull text from one session, switch windows, paste into another, lose formatting, lose thread.

cc-dm lets any session DM any other session on the same machine. Messages are delivered as native <channel> events within 500ms via the Claude Code Channels protocol, landing directly in the receiving session's context window.

How it works

  Session A (planner)  ──┐
  Session B (backend)  ──┼──→  ~/.cc-dm/bus.db  (SQLite WAL)
  Session C (tests)    ──┘          ↑
                               500ms poll per session
                               → <channel> event pushed into context

Each session spawns a cc-dm channel server via stdio. The server connects to a shared SQLite database at ~/.cc-dm/bus.db. When a session sends a message, it writes a row to the bus. Every other session's server polls the bus every 500ms, picks up messages addressed to it, and pushes them as <channel> events into its parent session. No daemon, no ports, no network. Just a shared file and a poll loop.

Requirements

• Claude Code v2.1.80 or later
• claude.ai login — Channels requires cloud authentication, not API key auth
• Bun runtime (bun.sh)
• macOS — primary supported platform

Quick Start

Start a new Claude Code session and enter the following commands:

/plugin marketplace add cc-dm-marketplace
/plugin install cc-dm

Restart Claude Code. The cc-dm tools and skills will be available in all sessions.

Install (alternative methods)

Via npm (requires Bun):

npm install cc-dm

The npm package contains the full plugin source. After installing, follow the Quick Start above to register the plugin with Claude Code.

Note: cc-dm is a Claude Code channel plugin, not a standalone library. The npm package exists for discoverability and as a distribution mirror — the primary install method is the plugin marketplace above.

Via curl:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Akram012388/cc-dm/main/install.sh | bash

Quick alias

Add this to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

alias cc-dm='claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --dangerously-load-development-channels plugin:cc-dm@cc-dm-marketplace'

Then launch sessions with:

CC_DM_SESSION_NAME=planner CC_DM_SESSION_ROLE=orchestrator CC_DM_SESSION_PROJECT=myapp cc-dm

Or just cc-dm and register interactively via /cc-dm:register.

Note: --dangerously-skip-permissions bypasses all tool permission prompts for the session, not just cc-dm's. Use with awareness.

Usage

Start a session without the alias:

CC_DM_SESSION_NAME=planner CC_DM_SESSION_ROLE=orchestrator CC_DM_SESSION_PROJECT=myapp \
claude --dangerously-load-development-channels plugin:cc-dm@cc-dm-marketplace

Once inside, use natural language:

"Register this session as planner"

"DM the backend session: auth spec is ready"

"Who is active in cc-dm?"

"Broadcast to all sessions: wrapping up in 10"

Multi-session orchestration

Open two or more terminals and launch Claude Code with different session identities:

Terminal 1 — Planner:

CC_DM_SESSION_NAME=planner CC_DM_SESSION_ROLE=orchestrator CC_DM_SESSION_PROJECT=myapp claude --dangerously-load-development-channels plugin:cc-dm@cc-dm-marketplace

Terminal 2 — Backend:

CC_DM_SESSION_NAME=backend CC_DM_SESSION_ROLE=worker CC_DM_SESSION_PROJECT=myapp claude --dangerously-load-development-channels plugin:cc-dm@cc-dm-marketplace

Or skip the env vars and register interactively using /cc-dm:register after launch.

Sessions can now message each other directly, broadcast to all, and coordinate work across terminals.

Session identity

Set these environment variables before launching:

• CC_DM_SESSION_NAME — your display name (e.g. planner, backend, tests)
• CC_DM_SESSION_ROLE — your role (e.g. orchestrator, worker, reviewer)
• CC_DM_SESSION_PROJECT — optional project tag (e.g. myapp, api-server)

See also: Message metadata, Permission relay, Access control for optional env vars that enable advanced features.