Environment variables

This page catalogs the environment variables involved in launching dsh-cc: the home directory the launcher bootstraps into, the resume/worktree contract the dsh-cc launcher passes to the TUI plugin, and TUI escape hatches. Each name, value, and default below is taken verbatim from the packages/launcher/tui launcher and TUI source at v0.6.3, plus one compatibility variable from the plugin loader.

Reference

Variable	Default	What it does
DSH_HOME	~/.dsh	Root of the dsh home directory. The launcher resolves it as `process.env.DSH_HOME
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR	~/.claude	The Claude home. Plugin discovery and Claude Code MCP config discovery read from it, and it stays fully read-visible. Since v0.6.0 it no longer relocates plugin-management writes — every /plugin mutation lands under DSH_HOME, so set DSH_HOME to relocate (see Plugins).
DSH_CC_PROFILE	tui	Set by the launcher on the spawned dsh child; the TUI plugin reads it as `process.env.DSH_CC_PROFILE
DSH_CC_RESUME_SESSION	(launcher-derived)	Launcher-owned. Set to a session id to resume it (--resume <id> / --resume=<id>), or to the empty string for an explicit fresh start (--new/-n, or a freshly created worktree). The launcher sanitizes it from the inherited environment and re-derives it from argv only — do not set it manually.
DSH_CC_AUTO_RESUME	(launcher-derived)	Launcher-owned. Set to '1' exactly when DSH_CC_RESUME_SESSION is left undefined, i.e. no explicit --resume/--new chose the session; the TUI then reads its own project resume marker. Do not set it manually.
DSH_CC_CONTINUE	(launcher-derived)	Launcher-owned. Set to '1' when -c/--continue was passed; the TUI shows a "no previous session to continue" notice when no marker exists. Do not set it manually.
DSH_CC_WORKTREE	(launcher-set)	Set by the launcher to a JSON descriptor (repoRoot, worktreePath, branch, baseHead) so the TUI recognizes the session as a launcher-managed worktree session and offers to keep or remove the worktree at /quit.
DSH_CCTUI_UI_MODE	regular	TUI display mode: regular or fullscreen. Beats plugin config, config beats the default — use it as the instant escape hatch when a profile pins fullscreen and the terminal cannot cope.
DSH_CCTUI_ALLOW_NO_TTY	(unset)	Set to '1' to allow mounting the TUI without an interactive terminal (stdout not a TTY).
NODE_COMPILE_CACHE	<DSH_HOME>/.cache/node-compile-cache	Node's module-compile cache directory. The launcher defaults it on the spawned dsh child so compiled modules are reused across boots; a user-set value always wins.

WARNING

ANTHROPIC_* environment variables are not honored. Per the CC parity matrix, they are a listed follow-up under model aliases — dsh-cc currently has no Anthropic semantics for them. Configure models through settings instead (see /reference/settings).

Usage

Opt out of fullscreen mode for one invocation (from the README's CC Mode section):

$ DSH_CCTUI_UI_MODE=regular dsh --profile tui

First run of the launcher bootstraps $DSH_HOME/profiles/tui with the three CC bundles and then spawns dsh --profile tui:

$ dsh-cc --resume <id>

The launcher translates --resume <id> into DSH_CC_RESUME_SESSION=<id>; the TUI plugin performs the actual resume. You never need to set the launcher-owned variables yourself.

Next

• /reference/settings — configuration files and keys
• /reference/cli — the dsh-cc launcher and its flags
• /quickstart — install and first run