pro-vi/cc-stretch

Worth a trial if you often read long Claude Code answers, but only if your terminal can run Claude Code's fullscreen renderer, and remember it does not cut token spend.

The problem

A Claude Code reply often arrives as a dense block of explanation, and you want only the parts that matter. Today you either scroll through everything or ask a follow-up to narrow it down. cc-stretch changes delivery: the reply arrives as a short form, and clicking a marked phrase expands it right where it sits while the words you already read stay put. You end up reading a shortened version plus only the stretches you open.

What's different

Claude writes both the short form and every expanded level up front, using {{short|long}} markup that the plugin renders. Stretches can nest, and the plugin tells Claude which parts you opened, so it does not assume you read the closed ones. A toolbar opened with /cc-stretch:style switches the marks and highlight colour and saves them to plugin settings. The benefit is reading less without losing skipped chunks. The trade-off is explicit in the documented limits: a reply costs about as many tokens as before, because every level was generated, so you save attention rather than money. The markup also shows as raw text wherever the plugin is not loaded.

Who should try it

Good fit: a developer already working inside Claude Code in the terminal's fullscreen layout whose replies are regularly longer than needed, and who will learn the alt/ctrl+↓ chords. Poor fit: anyone on the main terminal screen, in another app, or on tmux -CC and SSH-from-Windows setups, because there every stretch shows open. The desktop app path avoids the terminal requirement for clicks, but only the short form is a link and there is no style toolbar.

Requirements and limitations

Terminal clicks need the fullscreen renderer; /tui fullscreen switches and restarts with your session resumed. The README notes some setups still start on the main screen and suggests CLAUDE_CODE_NO_FLICKER=1 to force it. The plugin builds on Claude Code's function-hook plugin API, described as early access and changing between releases; it was checked on macOS terminal versions 2.1.300–2.1.302 and 2.1.306, and desktop app 2.1.295. The setup instructions list updates via auto-update, claude plugin update, or the /plugin menu. The chords clash with the diff panel's file list and macOS Mission Control defaults, and text selection inside stretched paragraphs behaves differently from a plain transcript. On Linux and Windows the evidence is reader issue reports such as terminal-pane clicks, not maintainer checks; the measurement basis is in the benchmark notes.

HotRepo's take

The repo was 10 days old at the end of HotRepo's sample and reached #23 on the TypeScript NEW-REPOSITORY board with 416 total stars on 2026-10-25 — a snapshot, not daily growth. With no comparable daily-board history, persistence cannot be judged. Before committing, check your Claude Code version and terminal layout against the README's checked versions.