claude-status 0.2.1

Beautiful, informative status line for Claude Code — zero dependencies, cross-platform

claude-status

Zero-dependency status line for Claude Code. One command. Every metric. All platforms.

Line 1:  [████████░░░░░░░░░░░░] │ in:245K out:18K │ cache:41% │ $0.73 │ $0.73/$10 │ burn:36K/min │ (200K)
Line 2:  12m05s │ api:5m12s │ +247 -38 │ ⎇ myapp/feat/statusline │ stash:2 │ tools:42 │ sessions:3 │ Opus │ v0.2.1 │ 15:30

Quick Start

pip install claude-status
claude-status --install

Restart Claude Code. That's it — two lines of pure signal at the bottom of your terminal.

Why claude-status?

• Zero dependencies — pure Python stdlib. No psutil, no colorama, no compilation. Installs in under 2 seconds
• Two-line layout — glanceable metrics on line 1, context details on line 2. Nothing gets truncated
• Every metric that matters — 20 data points including burn rate (tokens/min), a metric no other statusline tracks
• Responsive layout — automatically adapts to your terminal width (full/compact/narrow)
• 7 built-in themes — default, minimal, powerline, nord, tokyo-night, gruvbox, rose-pine
• Budget monitoring — set a daily spend limit, get color-coded warnings as you approach it
• Session analytics — tool call count and today's session count at a glance
• Cross-platform — tested on Windows, macOS, and Linux across Python 3.8–3.14 (21 CI jobs)
• Interactive setup — --setup wizard walks you through theme selection and budget config

Features

Line 1 — Metrics at a Glance

Feature	What You See	Why It Matters
Context Bar	[████████░░░░░░░░░░░░]	Green/yellow/red adaptive — know your context budget instantly
Token Counts	in:245K out:18K	Human-readable (K/M) — no squinting at raw numbers
Cache Efficiency	cache:41%	See how much prompt cache is saving you
Cost	$0.73	Session cost in real-time — cents for small, dollars for large
Burn Rate	burn:36K/min	Tokens/min consumption — unique to claude-status
Context Size	(200K)	Know if you're on 200K or 1M context
Budget	$0.73/$10	Color-coded daily budget tracker (green/yellow/red)
Context Warning	!CTX	Bold red alert when you exceed 200K tokens

Line 2 — Session Context

Feature	What You See	Why It Matters
Duration	12m05s	Wall-clock session time
API Latency	api:5m12s	Time spent in API calls
Lines Changed	+247 -38	Git-diff style — green additions, red removals
Git Branch	⎇ feat/statusline	Green for main/master, yellow for feature branches
Git Stash	stash:2	Number of stashed changes
Git Sync	sync:+2/-1	Commits ahead/behind remote
Tool Calls	tools:42	Number of tool calls in current session
Sessions Today	sessions:3	How many sessions you've started today
Vim Mode	NORMAL	Blue for NORMAL, green for INSERT (when vim mode is on)
Agent	[Explore]	Shows which subagent is active
Worktree	wt:fix/bug-123	Worktree branch indicator
Model	Opus 4.6 (1M context)	Active model name
Version	v0.2.1	claude-status version
Clock	15:30	Current time

Themes

7 built-in themes to match your terminal aesthetic. Preview all live with claude-status --demo.

default — full detail, clean separators

[████████░░░░░░░░░░░░] │ in:245K out:18K │ cache:41% │ $0.73 │ burn:36K/min │ (200K)
12m05s │ +247 -38 │ ⎇ myapp/feat/statusline │ tools:42 │ sessions:3 │ Opus 4.6 (1M context)

minimal — just the essentials

●●●●●●●●·············· in:245K out:18K $0.73
12m05s ⎇ feat/statusline sessions:3 Opus 4.6 (1M context)

powerline — Nerd Font separators

████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  in:245K out:18K  cache:41%  $0.73  burn:36K/min  (200K)
12m05s  +247 -38  ⎇ feat/statusline  tools:42  sessions:3  Opus 4.6 (1M context)

nord — cool blue tones

tokyo-night — purple and blue accents

gruvbox — warm retro palette

rose-pine — soft muted pinks

Installation

pip (recommended)

pip install claude-status
claude-status --install

pipx (isolated — no venv pollution)

pipx install claude-status
claude-status --install

uvx (fast, modern)

uvx claude-status --install

From source (contributors)

git clone https://github.com/mkalkere/claude-statusline.git
cd claude-statusline
pip install -e .
claude-status --install

What --install does

Reads your ~/.claude/settings.json, adds the statusLine entry, preserves everything else. Use --theme to pick a theme:

claude-status --install --theme powerline

Command not found? Ensure your Python scripts directory is in PATH. Fallback: python -m claude_statusline --install

CLI Reference

Command	Description
claude-status --setup	Interactive setup wizard (recommended for first use)
claude-status --install	Auto-configure Claude Code settings
claude-status --install --theme nord	Install with a specific theme
claude-status --demo	Preview all 7 themes with sample data
claude-status --doctor	Diagnostics: Python version, OS, terminal, current settings
claude-status --version	Show version
claude-status --help	Show usage

Budget Monitoring

Set a daily spending limit to get color-coded warnings as you approach it:

claude-status --setup  # interactive wizard sets this up for you

Or manually create ~/.claude/claude-status-budget.json:

{
  "daily_budget_usd": 10.00
}

The budget indicator changes color based on usage:

• Green: under 70% of budget
• Yellow: 70–90% of budget
• Red (bold): 90%+ of budget

Compaction Threshold

Scale the context bar relative to your compaction threshold instead of the full context window:

{
  "daily_budget_usd": 10.00,
  "compaction_threshold_pct": 62
}

With this set, the context bar shows 100% when you reach 62% of the context window — the point where compaction triggers.

Responsive Layout

The status line automatically adapts to your terminal width:

• 120+ columns: full detail (all sections)
• 80–119 columns: compact (drops extras like git stash, version, clock)
• Under 80 columns: narrow (essentials only — bar, tokens, cost, duration, branch)

Manual Configuration

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "claude-status"
  }
}

With a theme:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "claude-status --theme minimal"
  }
}

How It Works

Claude Code pipes session JSON to your statusLine command via stdin on every render cycle. claude-status parses it, formats 14 metrics across 2 lines, and prints to stdout. No daemon, no database, no background process — just a pure stdin-to-stdout pipe that runs in milliseconds.

Comparison

	claude-status	claude-statusline	ccstatusline
Language	Python	Python	Node.js
Dependencies	0	2 (psutil, colorama)	npm
Install time	~2s	~10s	~15s
Cross-platform	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux	Partial
Themes	7 + custom	100	1
Burn rate	Yes	No	No
Budget monitoring	Yes	No	No
Session analytics	Yes	No	No
Two-line layout	Yes	Yes	No
Interactive setup	--setup	init	Manual
Analytics/Dashboard	No	Yes	No
Background daemon	No	Yes	No

Our philosophy: Do one thing well. Show every metric you need, nothing you don't. Install in 2 seconds, work everywhere, break never.

FAQ

Does this work on Windows? Yes! Fully tested on Windows 11, macOS, and Linux across Python 3.8–3.14.

Can I customize the colors? Yes — use --theme custom with a ~/.claude/claude-status-theme.json file. Override any color or layout from the built-in themes.

How does budget monitoring work? Create ~/.claude/claude-status-budget.json with {"daily_budget_usd": 10.00}. The cost indicator turns yellow at 70% and red at 90% of your daily limit.

What is burn rate? Tokens consumed per minute — a metric unique to claude-status. Helps you gauge how fast you're using context in a session.

Does it add any latency to Claude Code? No. It runs as a pure stdin-to-stdout pipe in single-digit milliseconds. No daemon, no network calls, no background processes.

Why does the session count seem low on Windows with WSL? Windows and WSL have separate ~/.claude/ directories, so sessions are counted independently. The status line shows sessions from the platform it's running on.

Troubleshooting

If claude-status doesn't appear after installation:

1. Run claude-status --doctor to check your setup
2. Verify ~/.claude/settings.json contains the statusLine entry
3. Ensure your Python scripts directory is in your PATH
4. Try python -m claude_statusline --install as a fallback
5. Restart Claude Code after any configuration change

Uninstall

pip uninstall claude-status

Then remove "statusLine" from ~/.claude/settings.json.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT