Adding "Open in Claude Code" to the Windows 11 right-click menu

Overview

Two ways to add an Open in Claude Code entry to the Windows 11 right-click menu, so you can launch the Claude Code CLI in any folder with one click.

• Option A (recommended): use the Custom Context Menu app — the entry shows up in the new Windows 11 context menu.
• Option B: use the Windows registry (.reg file) — the entry shows up in the legacy context menu (accessible via 「顯示更多選項」 / "Show more options", or Shift + right-click).

Prerequisites

• Windows 11
• Claude Code CLI installed, with claude available in PATH
• Claude Code executable at %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe

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Option A: Custom Context Menu (new-style menu)

The Windows 11 new-style context menu cannot be extended via the registry alone, so a third-party app is needed: ContextMenuForWindows11 (open source, LGPL-3.0).

Step 1: install Custom Context Menu

Option 1: Microsoft Store (paid, around $1 USD)

Search for Custom Context Menu in the Microsoft Store and install. Paying supports the developer; functionality is identical to the free version.

Option 2: GitHub release (free)

1. Go to the Releases page and download ContextMenuCustom-CMC_GITHUB_RELEASE-x64.zip (x64 architecture).

2. Unzip — the directory looks like this:

   ContextMenuCustomGithubPackage_x.x.x.xx_Test/
   ├── ContextMenuCustomGithubPackage_x.x.x.xx_x64.cer      ← certificate
   ├── ContextMenuCustomGithubPackage_x.x.x.xx_x64.msixbundle  ← installer
   └── Dependencies/
       └── x64/
           ├── Microsoft.NET.Native.Framework.2.2.appx
           ├── Microsoft.NET.Native.Runtime.2.2.appx
           ├── Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.8.appx
           ├── Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.appx
           └── Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx

3. Install the certificate (open PowerShell as Administrator):

   Import-Certificate -FilePath ".\ContextMenuCustomGithubPackage_x.x.x.xx_x64.cer" -CertStoreLocation Cert:\LocalMachine\Root

   Note: the certificate must be installed under Cert:\LocalMachine\Root (Trusted Root Certification Authorities). Installing it under Trusted People or CurrentUser causes the subsequent msixbundle install to fail with 0x800B0109.

4. Install the app:

   Add-AppPackage -Path ".\ContextMenuCustomGithubPackage_x.x.x.xx_x64.msixbundle"

   Dependencies are installed automatically.

Step 2: add the Open in Claude Code menu entry

Option 1: via the app GUI

1. Open Custom Context Menu (search in the Start menu).

2. Click the + on the left to add a new entry.

3. Fill in the following:

   Field	Value
   Title	Open in Claude Code
   Exe	cmd.exe
   Param	/c cd /d "{path}" && claude
   Icon	%USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe
   Match Folder	enabled
   Match File	disabled

4. Click Save.

Option 2: drop in a JSON config file

1. In the app, click the folder icon in the top-left to open the config directory (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\{appId}\LocalState\custom_commands\).

2. Create Open in Claude Code.json in that directory:

   {
     "title": "Open in Claude Code",
     "exe": "cmd.exe",
     "param": "/c cd /d \"{path}\" && claude",
     "icon": "%USERPROFILE%\\.local\\bin\\claude.exe",
     "acceptExts": "",
     "acceptDirectory": true,
     "acceptDirectoryFlag": 0,
     "acceptFile": false,
     "acceptMultipleFilesFlag": 0,
     "pathDelimiter": "",
     "paramForMultipleFiles": "",
     "index": 0
   }

Step 3: make it visible

• If the app has caching enabled, click Toggle Cache to refresh.
• Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager, or sign out and back in.
• Right-click any folder — Open in Claude Code should now appear in the new-style menu.

Note: the entry appears under the Custom Context Menu submenu (default name "Custom Context Menu"). The root entry name can be changed in the app's settings.

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Option B: Registry (legacy menu)

This writes the entry directly into the Windows registry via a .reg file. It appears in the legacy menu (accessible via "Show more options" / Shift + right-click).

Install

Create add-claude-code-context-menu.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; --- Right-click on a FOLDER ---
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\ClaudeCode]
@="Open in Claude Code"
"Icon"="%USERPROFILE%\\.local\\bin\\claude.exe"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\ClaudeCode\command]
@="cmd.exe /c cd /d \"%V\" && claude"

; --- Right-click on directory BACKGROUND (empty space inside a folder) ---
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\Background\shell\ClaudeCode]
@="Open in Claude Code"
"Icon"="%USERPROFILE%\\.local\\bin\\claude.exe"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\Background\shell\ClaudeCode\command]
@="cmd.exe /c cd /d \"%V\" && claude"

Double-click the .reg file and confirm the merge. This covers both cases:

• Right-click on a folder itself → Open in Claude Code
• Right-click on empty space inside a folder → Open in Claude Code

No reboot needed — newly opened Explorer windows pick it up immediately.

Remove

Create remove-claude-code-context-menu.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\ClaudeCode]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\Background\shell\ClaudeCode]

Double-click to remove.

Optional: disable the new-style menu and use only the legacy menu

If you'd rather have right-click show the full legacy menu directly (so Option B's entry is visible without an extra click), run:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

Restart Explorer to apply. To restore the new-style menu:

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

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Comparison

	Option A (Custom Context Menu)	Option B (Registry)
Where it appears	Windows 11 new-style menu	Legacy menu (Show more options)
Install effort	Requires a third-party app	Double-click a .reg file
Customizability	High (GUI + JSON config)	Low (manual registry edits)
Removal	Delete in app, or remove JSON	Run the uninstall .reg
Dependencies	Custom Context Menu app	None

Both options can be used at the same time without conflicts.