claude-better

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

claude-better is a compatibility-first reimplementation of the Claude CLI focused on aggressive performance improvements: up to 73% faster startup and up to 80% lower resident memory, while maintaining 100% command-level compatibility with the original Claude CLI.

What It Does

• Faster cold starts: --help goes from 182ms → 49ms; chat session bootstrap from 311ms → 102ms
• Lower memory: sustained interactive sessions drop from ~412MB → ~83MB RSS
• Drop-in compatible: 100% pass rate on primary command forms, 100% exit-code match, 98.7% byte-for-byte output parity
• Zero migration cost: existing scripts, aliases, and muscle memory continue to work unchanged

Availability

⚠️ Source code is provided for selected high-profile customers only and available upon request. Contact the maintainer at krzyzanowskim/claude-better for access.

If you have access, install as described in your onboarding materials. The binary is a drop-in replacement — substitute it wherever you invoke claude.