claude-hud/README.md

# Claude HUD

A Claude Code plugin that shows what's happening — context usage, active tools, running agents, and todo progress. Always visible below your input.

[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/jarrodwatts/claude-hud?v=2)](LICENSE)
[![Stars](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/jarrodwatts/claude-hud)](https://github.com/jarrodwatts/claude-hud/stargazers)

![Claude HUD in action](claude-hud-preview-5-2.png)

## Install

Inside a Claude Code instance, run the following commands:

**Step 1: Add the marketplace**
```
/plugin marketplace add jarrodwatts/claude-hud
```

**Step 2: Install the plugin**

<details>
<summary><strong>⚠️ Linux users: Click here first</strong></summary>

On Linux, `/tmp` is often a separate filesystem (tmpfs), which causes plugin installation to fail with:
```
EXDEV: cross-device link not permitted
```

**Fix**: Set TMPDIR before installing:
```bash
mkdir -p ~/.cache/tmp && TMPDIR=~/.cache/tmp claude
```

Then run the install command below in that session. This is a [Claude Code platform limitation](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/14799).

</details>

```
/plugin install claude-hud
```

After that, reload plugins:

```
/reload-plugins
```


**Step 3: Configure the statusline**
```
/claude-hud:setup
```

<details>
<summary><strong>⚠️ Windows users: Click here if setup says no JavaScript runtime was found</strong></summary>

On Windows, Node.js LTS is the recommended runtime for Claude HUD. If setup says no JavaScript runtime was found, install Node.js for your shell first:
```powershell
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
```
Then restart your shell and run `/claude-hud:setup` again.

</details>

Done! Restart Claude Code to load the new statusLine config, then the HUD will appear.

On Windows, make that a full Claude Code restart after setup writes the new `statusLine` config.

---

## What is Claude HUD?

Claude HUD gives you better insights into what's happening in your Claude Code session.

| What You See | Why It Matters |
|--------------|----------------|
| **Project path** | Know which project you're in (configurable 1-3 directory levels) |
| **Context health** | Know exactly how full your context window is before it's too late |
| **Tool activity** | Watch Claude read, edit, and search files as it happens |
| **Agent tracking** | See which subagents are running and what they're doing |
| **Todo progress** | Track task completion in real-time |

## What You See

### Default (2 lines)
```
[Opus] │ my-project git:(main*)
Context █████░░░░░ 45% │ Usage ██░░░░░░░░ 25% (1h 30m / 5h)
```
- **Line 1** — Model, provider label when positively identified (for example `Bedrock`), project path, git branch
- **Line 2** — Context bar (green → yellow → red) and usage rate limits

### Optional lines (enable via `/claude-hud:configure`)
```
◐ Edit: auth.ts | ✓ Read ×3 | ✓ Grep ×2        ← Tools activity
◐ explore [haiku]: Finding auth code (2m 15s)    ← Agent status
▸ Fix authentication bug (2/5)                   ← Todo progress
```

---

## How It Works

Claude HUD uses Claude Code's native **statusline API** — no separate window, no tmux required, works in any terminal.

```
Claude Code → stdin JSON → claude-hud → stdout → displayed in your terminal
           ↘ transcript JSONL (tools, agents, todos)
```

**Key features:**
- Native token data from Claude Code (not estimated)
- Scales with Claude Code's reported context window size, including newer 1M-context sessions
- Parses the transcript for tool/agent activity
- Updates every ~300ms

---

## Configuration

Customize your HUD anytime:

```
/claude-hud:configure
```

The guided flow handles layout, language, and common display toggles. Advanced overrides such as
custom colors and thresholds are preserved there, but you set them by editing the config file directly:

- **First time setup**: Choose a preset (Full/Essential/Minimal), pick a label language, then fine-tune individual elements
- **Customize anytime**: Toggle items on/off, adjust git display style, switch layouts, or change label language
- **Preview before saving**: See exactly how your HUD will look before committing changes

### Presets

| Preset | What's Shown |
|--------|--------------|
| **Full** | Everything enabled — tools, agents, todos, git, usage, duration |
| **Essential** | Activity lines + git status, minimal info clutter |
| **Minimal** | Core only — just model name and context bar |

After choosing a preset, you can turn individual elements on or off.

### Manual Configuration

Edit `~/.claude/plugins/claude-hud/config.json` directly for advanced settings such as `colors.*`,
`pathLevels`, and threshold overrides. Running `/claude-hud:configure` preserves those manual settings while still letting you change `language`, layout, and the common guided toggles.

Chinese HUD labels are available as an explicit opt-in. English stays the default unless you choose `中文` in `/claude-hud:configure` or set `language` in config.

### Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| `language` | `en` \| `zh` | `en` | HUD label language. English is the default; set `zh` to enable Chinese labels. |
| `lineLayout` | string | `expanded` | Layout: `expanded` (multi-line) or `compact` (single line) |
| `pathLevels` | 1-3 | 1 | Directory levels to show in project path |
| `elementOrder` | string[] | `["project","context","usage","memory","environment","tools","agents","todos"]` | Expanded-mode element order. Omit entries to hide them in expanded mode. |
| `gitStatus.enabled` | boolean | true | Show git branch in HUD |
| `gitStatus.showDirty` | boolean | true | Show `*` for uncommitted changes |
| `gitStatus.showAheadBehind` | boolean | false | Show `↑N ↓N` for ahead/behind remote |
| `gitStatus.pushWarningThreshold` | number | 0 | Color the ahead count with the warning color at or above this unpushed-commit count (`0` disables it) |
| `gitStatus.pushCriticalThreshold` | number | 0 | Color the ahead count with the critical color at or above this unpushed-commit count (`0` disables it) |
| `gitStatus.showFileStats` | boolean | false | Show file change counts `!M +A ✘D ?U` |
| `display.showModel` | boolean | true | Show model name `[Opus]` |
| `display.showContextBar` | boolean | true | Show visual context bar `████░░░░░░` |
| `display.contextValue` | `percent` \| `tokens` \| `remaining` \| `both` | `percent` | Context display format (`45%`, `45k/200k`, `55%` remaining, or `45% (45k/200k)`) |
| `display.showConfigCounts` | boolean | false | Show CLAUDE.md, rules, MCPs, hooks counts |
| `display.showCost` | boolean | false | Show session cost using Claude Code's native `cost.total_cost_usd` when available, with a local estimate fallback for direct Anthropic sessions |
| `display.showOutputStyle` | boolean | false | Show the active Claude Code `outputStyle` from settings files as `style: <name>` |
| `display.showDuration` | boolean | false | Show session duration `⏱️ 5m` |
| `display.showSpeed` | boolean | false | Show output token speed `out: 42.1 tok/s` |
| `display.showUsage` | boolean | true | Show Claude subscriber usage limits when available |
| `display.usageBarEnabled` | boolean | true | Display usage as visual bar instead of text |
| `display.sevenDayThreshold` | 0-100 | 80 | Show 7-day usage when >= threshold (0 = always) |
| `display.showTokenBreakdown` | boolean | true | Show token details at high context (85%+) |
| `display.showTools` | boolean | false | Show tools activity line |
| `display.showAgents` | boolean | false | Show agents activity line |
| `display.showTodos` | boolean | false | Show todos progress line |
| `display.showSessionName` | boolean | false | Show session slug or custom title from `/rename` |
| `display.showClaudeCodeVersion` | boolean | false | Show the installed Claude Code version, e.g. `CC v2.1.81` |
| `display.showMemoryUsage` | boolean | false | Show an approximate system RAM usage line in expanded layout |
| `colors.context` | color value | `green` | Base color for the context bar and context percentage |
| `colors.usage` | color value | `brightBlue` | Base color for usage bars and percentages below warning thresholds |
| `colors.warning` | color value | `yellow` | Warning color for context thresholds and usage warning text |
| `colors.usageWarning` | color value | `brightMagenta` | Warning color for usage bars and percentages near their threshold |
| `colors.critical` | color value | `red` | Critical color for limit-reached states and critical thresholds |
| `colors.model` | color value | `cyan` | Color for the model badge such as `[Opus]` |
| `colors.project` | color value | `yellow` | Color for the project path |
| `colors.git` | color value | `magenta` | Color for git wrapper text such as `git:(` and `)` |
| `colors.gitBranch` | color value | `cyan` | Color for the git branch and branch status text |
| `colors.label` | color value | `dim` | Color for labels and secondary metadata such as `Context`, `Usage`, counts, and progress text |
| `colors.custom` | color value | `208` | Color for the optional custom line |

Supported color names: `dim`, `red`, `green`, `yellow`, `magenta`, `cyan`, `brightBlue`, `brightMagenta`. You can also use a 256-color number (`0-255`) or hex (`#rrggbb`).

`display.showMemoryUsage` is fully opt-in and only renders in `expanded` layout. It reports approximate system RAM usage from the local machine, not precise memory pressure inside Claude Code or a specific process. The number may overstate actual pressure because reclaimable OS cache and buffers can still be counted as used memory.

`display.showCost` is fully opt-in. ClaudeHUD prefers the native `cost.total_cost_usd` field that Claude Code provides on stdin when it is available. If that field is absent or invalid for a direct Anthropic session, ClaudeHUD falls back to the existing local transcript-based estimate so the cost line still works on older payloads. The native field is absent before the first API response in a session, so the cost display may stay hidden until then. ClaudeHUD also keeps the cost hidden for known routed providers such as Bedrock, because cloud-provider billed sessions may report `$0.00` or omit the field even though the session was not literally free.

### Usage Limits

Usage display is **enabled by default** when Claude Code provides subscriber `rate_limits` data on stdin. It shows your rate limit consumption on line 2 alongside the context bar.

ClaudeHUD intentionally trusts only the official statusline stdin payload for live usage. It does not read local OAuth credentials or poll undocumented usage endpoints in the background.

Free/weekly-only accounts render the weekly window by itself instead of showing a ghost `5h: --` placeholder.

The 7-day percentage appears when above the `display.sevenDayThreshold` (default 80%):

```
Context █████░░░░░ 45% │ Usage ██░░░░░░░░ 25% (1h 30m / 5h) | ██████████ 85% (2d / 7d)
```

To disable, set `display.showUsage` to `false`.

**Requirements:**
- Claude Code must include subscriber `rate_limits` data on stdin for the current session
- Not available for API-key-only users

**Troubleshooting:** If usage doesn't appear:
- Ensure you're logged in with a Claude subscriber account (not API key)
- Check `display.showUsage` is not set to `false` in config
- API users see no usage display (they have pay-per-token, not rate limits)
- AWS Bedrock models display `Bedrock` and hide usage limits (usage is managed in AWS)
- Claude Code may leave `rate_limits` empty until after the first model response in a session
- Some Claude Code builds and subscription tiers may still omit `rate_limits`, even after the first response
- When `rate_limits` is missing, ClaudeHUD will hide usage instead of falling back to credential scraping or undocumented API calls

### Example Configuration

```json
{
  "language": "zh",
  "lineLayout": "expanded",
  "pathLevels": 2,
  "elementOrder": ["project", "tools", "context", "usage", "memory", "environment", "agents", "todos"],
  "gitStatus": {
    "enabled": true,
    "showDirty": true,
    "showAheadBehind": true,
    "showFileStats": true
  },
  "display": {
    "showTools": true,
    "showAgents": true,
    "showTodos": true,
    "showConfigCounts": true,
    "showDuration": true,
    "showMemoryUsage": true
  },
  "colors": {
    "context": "cyan",
    "usage": "cyan",
    "warning": "yellow",
    "usageWarning": "magenta",
    "critical": "red",
    "model": "cyan",
    "project": "yellow",
    "git": "magenta",
    "gitBranch": "cyan",
    "label": "dim",
    "custom": "#FF6600"
  }
}
```

### Display Examples

**1 level (default):** `[Opus] │ my-project git:(main)`

**2 levels:** `[Opus] │ apps/my-project git:(main)`

**3 levels:** `[Opus] │ dev/apps/my-project git:(main)`

**With dirty indicator:** `[Opus] │ my-project git:(main*)`

**With ahead/behind:** `[Opus] │ my-project git:(main ↑2 ↓1)`

**With file stats:** `[Opus] │ my-project git:(main* !3 +1 ?2)`
- `!` = modified files, `+` = added/staged, `✘` = deleted, `?` = untracked
- Counts of 0 are omitted for cleaner display

### Troubleshooting

**Config not applying?**
- Check for JSON syntax errors: invalid JSON silently falls back to defaults
- Ensure valid values: `pathLevels` must be 1, 2, or 3; `lineLayout` must be `expanded` or `compact`
- Delete config and run `/claude-hud:configure` to regenerate

**Git status missing?**
- Verify you're in a git repository
- Check `gitStatus.enabled` is not `false` in config

**Tool/agent/todo lines missing?**
- These are hidden by default — enable with `showTools`, `showAgents`, `showTodos` in config
- They also only appear when there's activity to show

**HUD not appearing after setup?**
- Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new statusLine config
- On macOS, fully quit Claude Code and run `claude` again in your terminal

---

## Requirements

- Claude Code v1.0.80+
- Node.js 18+ or Bun

---

## Development

```bash
git clone https://github.com/jarrodwatts/claude-hud
cd claude-hud
npm ci && npm run build
npm test
```

See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.

---

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE)

---

## Star History

[![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=jarrodwatts/claude-hud&type=Date)](https://star-history.com/#jarrodwatts/claude-hud&Date)