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Claude HUD

Customizable status line display showing context, tokens, and session info

jarrodwattsAdded Jan 7, 2026

Catalog skill by jarrodwatts: Customizable status line display showing context, tokens, and session info Install into Cursor, Claude, Codex, or VS Code from this page or review the source for Claude HUD.

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Installation

/plugin install claude-hud

Install guides: Cursor skills, Claude Code skills, Codex skills, or VS Code Copilot skills.

Skill body

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

🌐 English | 中文文档

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

On older Claude Code versions, /tmp being a separate filesystem (tmpfs) caused plugin installation to fail with:

EXDEV: cross-device link not permitted

This Claude Code bug has since been fixed — if you hit it, update Claude Code first. If you can't update, set TMPDIR before installing:

mkdir -p ~/.cache/tmp && TMPDIR=~/.cache/tmp claude

Then run the install command below in that session.

/plugin install claude-hud

After that, reload plugins (no restart needed):

/reload-plugins

Steps 1–2 can also be done outside a session with the Claude Code CLI:

claude plugin marketplace add jarrodwatts/claude-hud
claude plugin install claude-hud@claude-hud

Then run /reload-plugins inside your session (or start a new one).

Step 3: Configure the statusline

/claude-hud:setup

On Windows, Node.js LTS is the supported runtime for Claude HUD setup. If setup says no JavaScript runtime was found, install Node.js for your shell first:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Then restart your shell and run /claude-hud:setup again.

Done! Claude Code reloads settings automatically — the HUD appears after your next message, no restart needed. If it doesn't show up, restart Claude Code (older versions require a restart to pick up statusLine changes).

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, Vertex, MiniMax), 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
Re-renders after each interaction (new assistant messages, /compact, permission changes, vim-mode toggles), debounced at 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, maxWidth, threshold overrides, display.timeFormat, display.hourCycle, and display.promptCacheTtlSeconds. Running /claude-hud:configure preserves those manual settings while still letting you change language, layout, and the common guided toggles.

If you run several Claude config directories via CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and symlink plugins/ to a shared location, plugins/claude-hud/config.json is the same physical file for all of them. Put per-directory settings in $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/claude-hud.json instead - it uses the same shape, only needs the keys it changes, and is layered on top of the shared config at load time:

For example, put this in ~/.config/claude/work/claude-hud.json:

{ "display": { "customLine": "Work Team" } }

Simplified and Traditional Chinese HUD labels are available as explicit opt-ins. English stays the default unless you choose a Chinese locale in /claude-hud:configure or set language in config. The zh alias maps to Simplified Chinese, and zh-TW maps to Traditional Chinese. Guided config writes the canonical zh-Hans or zh-Hant value.

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`language`	`en` \| `zh` \| `zh-Hans` \| `zh-Hant` \| `zh-TW`	`en`	HUD label language. Use `zh` or `zh-Hans` for Simplified Chinese and `zh-Hant` or `zh-TW` for Traditional Chinese.
`lineLayout`	string	`expanded`	Layout: `expanded` (multi-line) or `compact` (single line)
`pathLevels`	1-3 \| `full`	1	Directory levels to show in project path, or `full` to show the entire absolute path
`maxWidth`	number \| `null`	`null`	Optional fallback width used only when terminal width detection fails completely
`forceMaxWidth`	boolean	false	Always use `maxWidth` when it is set, even if terminal width detection returns a smaller value
`elementOrder`	string[]	`["project","addedDirs","context","usage","promptCache","memory","environment","tools","skills","mcp","agents","todos","sessionTime"]`	Expanded-mode element order. Omit entries to hide them in expanded mode. Existing configs keep their explicit order until updated.
`projectLineOrder`	string[]	`[]`	Optional leading order of segments within the first line, in both layouts. Visibility stays with the `display.show*` flags, and omitted segments retain their existing renderer order. `model` covers provider + model + effort (plus the context bar in compact mode); `project` covers path + added dirs + git as one segment. Example: `["project","model"]` puts the project/git block before the model badge.
`display.mergeGroups`	string[][]	`[["context","usage"]]`	Expanded-mode groups that should share a line when adjacent. Set `[]` to disable merged lines.
`display.rightAlign`	string[]	`[]`	Starts a right-aligned suffix at the first listed element in a merged row, preserving `elementOrder` and padding the gap with spaces. Requires the anchor to be in a `display.mergeGroups` group that actually renders on one line. Ignored when the terminal width is unknown, the anchor is first, or there is no room for padding. Example: `["context"]` with a `["project","context","usage"]` group keeps project/git left and pins context + usage right.
`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`
`gitStatus.branchOverflow`	`truncate` \| `wrap`	`truncate`	Keep current truncation behavior or let the git block wrap onto its own line boundary when possible
`jjStatus.enabled`	boolean	false	Opt in to jj (Jujutsu) status. When enabled and a real `.jj` directory is found, jj is used instead of git for that repo — never both
`jjStatus.showDirty`	boolean	true	Show `*` when the working-copy commit differs from its parent
`jjStatus.showConflicts`	boolean	true	Show a `!conflict` marker when the working-copy commit has an unresolved conflict
`display.showModel`	boolean	true	Show model name `[Opus]`
`display.modelSource`	`stdin` \| `auto` \| `transcript`	`stdin`	Controls which source the model name comes from. `stdin` preserves the default behavior and always uses what Claude Code reports. `auto` opts into proxy redirect detection by using transcript models only for non-Claude models. `transcript` always uses the model from the API response. Transcript model values are terminal-sanitized and capped at 80 characters
`display.showProvider`	boolean	false	Show the provider label before the model name, e.g. `[Bedrock \| Opus 4.6]`. Useful when a custom proxy serves identically-named models from different providers. When off, an auto-detected provider still trails the model as before
`display.providerName`	string	`""`	Explicit provider label used with `display.showProvider`, e.g. for a custom proxy that can't be auto-detected. Falls back to the auto-detected provider (Bedrock/Vertex/MiniMax/Enterprise) when empty; capped at 40 chars
`display.showAddedDirs`	boolean	true	Show extra workspace directories from `/add-dir` (e.g. `+sparkle +lib-foo`); empty array renders nothing. In both layouts at most 5 dirs render (overflow shown as `+N more`) and basenames are truncated to 24 chars with `…`
`display.addedDirsLayout`	`inline` \| `line`	`inline`	`inline` puts dirs next to the project name with a `+name` prefix per dir; `line` renders them on a separate `Added dirs: name1, name2` line (no `+` prefix, comma-separated)
`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.autoCompactWindow`	number \| `null`	`null`	When set to a positive number such as `200000`, compute the context percentage against this auto-compact window instead of the full model context window, matching the `/context` figure. Leave unset or `null` to preserve default full-window behavior.
`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.showRoutedCost`	boolean	false	Also show cost for routed providers (Bedrock/Vertex), which `showCost` hides by default. Requires `showCost` too. Uses the native `cost.total_cost_usd` when positive (`Cost`), otherwise the token estimate (`Est.`)
`display.showDailyCost`	boolean	false	Show today's cumulative spend across sessions as `Today $12.34`, accumulated from the native `cost.total_cost_usd` into a small per-day ledger in the plugin data directory. Resets at local midnight. Independent of `showCost`
`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.usageValue`	`percent` \| `remaining`	`percent`	Usage display format (`25%` used, or `75%` remaining)
`display.usageBarEnabled`	boolean	true	Display usage as visual bar instead of text
`display.usageCompact`	boolean	false	Display usage in a shorter text form such as `5h: 25% (1h 30m)`; takes precedence over `display.usageBarEnabled`
`display.showResetLabel`	boolean	true	Show the `resets in` prefix before usage countdowns
`display.showModelScopedUsage`	boolean	true	Show the per-model weekly windows (`model_scoped`, e.g. Fable), whether they arrive on stdin or from the external usage snapshot. Set to `false` to render the usage line as if the payload carried none of them
`display.timeFormat`	`relative` \| `absolute` \| `both` \| `elapsed` \| `elapsedAndAbsolute`	`relative`	How usage-window time is shown: countdown only (`resets in 2h 30m`), wall-clock reset (`resets at 14:30`), both, elapsed window percentage (`53% elapsed`), or elapsed plus wall-clock reset
`display.hourCycle`	`auto` \| `h11` \| `h12` \| `h23` \| `h24`	`auto`	Hour cycle for wall-clock reset times (`absolute`/`both`/`elapsedAndAbsolute` modes). `auto` defers to the system locale; `h23` forces 24-hour time (`14:30`) regardless of locale
`display.showClockSeconds`	boolean	false	Show seconds in wall-clock reset times, e.g. `at 14:30:07`
`display.sevenDayThreshold`	0-100	80	Show 7-day usage when >= threshold (0 = always)
`display.externalUsagePath`	string	`""`	Optional absolute path to a local usage snapshot file. Relative paths are ignored. When stdin `rate_limits` are present, `balance_label` is appended and `model_scoped` windows fill in when stdin lacks them; when stdin windows are missing, valid usage windows can be used as a fallback
`display.externalUsageWritePath`	string	`""`	Optional absolute `.json` path in an existing directory. When stdin `rate_limits` exists, ClaudeHUD writes a private snapshot for other local tools. Relative paths, non-json files, and missing parent directories are ignored
`display.externalUsageFreshnessMs`	number	`300000`	Maximum allowed age for the external usage snapshot before it is ignored
`display.showTokenBreakdown`	boolean	true	Show token details at high context (85%+)
`display.showTools`	boolean	false	Show tools activity line
`display.showSkills`	boolean	false	Show active Skills detected from `Skill` tool invocations
`display.showMcp`	boolean	false	Show active MCP servers detected from `mcp__server__tool` invocations
`display.toolNameMaxLength`	number	`0`	Maximum displayed tool-name length. `0` keeps full names; MCP names may shorten to their final segment when truncating
`display.toolsMaxVisible`	number	`4`	Maximum completed tools shown on the tools line. `0` means unlimited
`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.showAuth`	boolean	false	Show the auth method (subscription plan) of the current login as its own segment at the end of the first line, e.g. `Claude Max 20x`. Derived from the `oauthAccount` block in `{CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR}.json`; shows `API Key` when there is no OAuth login but `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set
`display.showAuthUser`	boolean	false	Show the logged-in account (email local part, falling back to profile display name) next to the auth method
`display.authUserLength`	number	`8`	Maximum characters of the account name to display before truncating with `…`. `0` shows the full name
`display.showAdvisor`	boolean	false	Inline the model configured via Claude Code's `/advisor` on the project line, e.g. `Advisor: Opus 4.7`. Read from the `advisorModel` field that Claude Code stamps on each assistant transcript record; sanitised and capped at 64 chars before rendering
`display.advisorOverride`	string	`""`	Optional manual override for the displayed advisor label. When non-empty, replaces transcript-driven detection. Also sanitised and capped at 64 chars
`display.showSessionStartDate`	boolean	false	Show the transcript session start timestamp
`display.showLastResponseAt`	boolean	false	Show how long ago the last assistant response was written
`display.showCompactions`	boolean	false	Show how many context compactions (manual `/compact` or auto) have occurred this session, counted from transcript `compact_boundary` entries, e.g. `Compactions: 2`. Hidden until the first compaction
`display.showEffortLevel`	boolean	false	Show the current reasoning effort in the model badge. Ultracode renders as `ultracode(xhigh)`, detected from the session transcript so it tracks `/effort` changes made at runtime
`display.effortFormat`	`full` \| `symbol` \| `text`	`full`	How the effort renders when `display.showEffortLevel` is on: symbol and level text (`◑ high`), symbol only (`◑`), or level text only (`high`). Ultracode keeps the full `◕ ultracode(xhigh)` form under `symbol` so the marker is not lost, and levels without a known symbol fall back to the level text
`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
`display.showPromptCache`	boolean	false	Show the wall-clock time the session's prompt cache expires, read from the transcript
`display.promptCacheTtlSeconds`	number	`300`	Compatibility fallback used only when the transcript has not reported a 5-minute or 1-hour cache tier
`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
`colors.barFilled`	string	`█`	Character used for the filled portion of progress bars
`colors.barEmpty`	string	`░`	Character used for the empty portion of progress bars

colors.barFilled and colors.barEmpty accept a single visible grapheme. Control characters, invisible format characters (bidi controls, zero-width joiners, variation selectors), line/paragraph separators, and noncharacters are rejected. Wide characters (emoji, CJK) may affect bar alignment depending on the terminal.

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 and Vertex AI, because cloud-provider billed sessions may report $0.00 or omit the field even though the session was not literally free. Set display.showRoutedCost: true (alongside showCost) to opt into cost for those providers anyway: the native cost.total_cost_usd is shown as Cost when positive, otherwise ClaudeHUD falls back to a token-based Est. from the Anthropic pricing table.

display.showDailyCost is fully opt-in and answers a different question than showCost: what has the whole day cost across sessions, not just the current conversation. On each render ClaudeHUD folds the native cost.total_cost_usd into a small daily-cost.json ledger in the plugin data directory, keyed by session_id, and shows the day's cumulative spend as Today $12.34. The first sighting of a session records a baseline so only spend from that point counts, the counter resets at local midnight, sessions spanning midnight contribute only the current day's part, and entries unseen for more than 24 hours are dropped so the file stays bounded. It only uses the native field (no estimate fallback), so sessions that never render the statusline are not counted, counting starts when the option is enabled, and totals are per machine. Routed providers (Bedrock/Vertex) are excluded unless display.showRoutedCost is also enabled, matching showCost.

Official MiniMax Anthropic-compatible endpoints receive a MiniMax provider label. MiniMax M2.7 can use its published token and cache prices for local estimates; M3 pricing depends on each request's context tier, which cumulative session tokens cannot safely infer, so ClaudeHUD does not guess an M3 estimate.

display.showPromptCache is fully opt-in. When enabled, ClaudeHUD shows the wall-clock time the session's prompt cache expires (e.g. Cache ⏱ until 14:30), or expired once that time has passed. It follows display.hourCycle and display.showClockSeconds like every other clock time in the HUD. If the transcript has no main-session response yet, the cache element stays hidden.

It shows an expiry time rather than a countdown because the statusline only repaints while Claude Code is active. Between turns — exactly when the cache is draining — a countdown freezes at whatever it last displayed and keeps reporting it; a clock time stays true no matter how stale the render is.

ClaudeHUD detects the cache tier from the transcript when possible. The existing display.promptCacheTtlSeconds setting remains a fallback for older or proxied transcripts that do not expose tier details:

The TTL is detected. Every cache write records the tier it used (usage.cache_creation.ephemeral_5m_input_tokens vs ephemeral_1h_input_tokens), so a 1-hour session counts down against an hour, and a session that changes tier mid-run is followed. Detected values take precedence over the configured fallback.
The clock starts at the request, not at the response it produced, because that is when the cache is read or written. Anchoring on the response would hand the session however long that response took to generate.
Subagent responses are ignored. A subagent runs against its own cache and does not refresh the main session's.

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.

Set display.usageValue to remaining to show quota left instead of quota used. Warning colors and 7-day threshold checks still use the underlying used percentage.

ClaudeHUD prefers the official statusline stdin payload for rate-limit windows. If display.externalUsagePath points to a fresh local sidecar snapshot, ClaudeHUD can append its balance_label alongside stdin windows. If stdin rate_limits are missing, the same snapshot can provide fallback usage windows.

The fallback snapshot path must be absolute. The snapshot must be fresh enough (display.externalUsageFreshnessMs) and include valid updated_at, plus a five_hour window, seven_day window, balance_label, or model_scoped array. balance_label is optional text for prepaid provider balances; it is trimmed, length-limited, and sanitized before display. Relative paths, invalid JSON, stale files, or invalid timestamps are ignored quietly.

The snapshot may also carry model_scoped windows using the same shape Claude Code defines for stdin (display_name, utilization on the 0-100 scale, ISO resets_at). They render exactly like stdin scoped windows (see the model-scoped usage section) and stdin always wins when it carries its own model_scoped data. This lets a local feeder surface per-model weekly quotas (e.g. Fable) that the statusline payload does not include yet:

{
  "updated_at": "2026-07-24T14:12:37Z",
  "model_scoped": [
    { "display_name": "Fable", "utilization": 89, "resets_at": "2026-07-27T11:00:00Z" }
  ]
}

One zero-credential way to produce such a snapshot is Claude Code's own get_usage control request, which returns rate_limits.model_scoped without spending tokens; a scheduled job can pipe it through jq into the snapshot file. The HUD itself never fetches anything: it only reads the file.

Set display.externalUsageWritePath if you want ClaudeHUD to write the official stdin rate_limits into a local snapshot for other tools. The path must be absolute, end in .json, and live in an existing directory. ClaudeHUD writes the file with private permissions and ignores invalid paths quietly.

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.

Reset times use relative countdowns by default. Set display.timeFormat to absolute for wall-clock times, both to show both forms, elapsed to show how far through each usage window you are, or elapsedAndAbsolute to show elapsed window progress plus the wall-clock reset time. This setting is manual-only today; /claude-hud:configure preserves it without editing it.

Wall-clock reset times (absolute/both/elapsedAndAbsolute) default to your system locale for 12- vs 24-hour formatting. Set display.hourCycle to h23 to force 24-hour time regardless of locale, or to h12/h11 to force 12-hour time with AM/PM. Set display.showClockSeconds to true to include seconds in the wall-clock time, e.g. at 14:30:07.

Set display.showResetLabel to false if you want shorter usage countdowns such as (3h 17m) instead of (resets in 3h 17m).

Set display.usageCompact to true if you want the shorter usage-only form, for example 5h: 25% (1h 30m). Compact usage takes precedence over display.usageBarEnabled.

Set display.showModelScopedUsage to false to hide the per-model weekly windows (e.g. Fable). The usage line then renders exactly as it would for an account that has none: the 5h/7d windows stay, snapshot windows are hidden along with the stdin ones, and a hidden window no longer counts toward a configured usage threshold, so it can no longer keep the line on screen by itself.

Security Notes

ClaudeHUD is local-only by design. It does not make network requests, scrape credentials, or call undocumented Claude APIs. It reads the statusline JSON from stdin, the current session transcript path supplied by Claude Code, selected Claude configuration files under ~/.claude, and git metadata for the current workspace.

HUD cache files are written under ~/.claude/plugins/claude-hud with private permissions on POSIX filesystems. The cache stores derived display metadata such as context percentages, token counters, activity names, and the resolved Claude Code version.

--extra-cmd is disabled unless CLAUDE_HUD_ALLOW_EXTRA_CMD=1 (or true, yes, on) is present in the HUD process environment. Treat this option as arbitrary code execution: it runs the supplied shell command with your user privileges on statusline refreshes. Do not use commands copied from untrusted sources.

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)
Bedrock and Vertex AI models hide cost estimates by default (billing differs from Anthropic direct); opt in with display.showRoutedCost
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
If you configured display.externalUsagePath, ClaudeHUD will try that local snapshot before hiding usage
ClaudeHUD never falls back to credential scraping or undocumented API calls

Example fallback snapshot:

{
  "updated_at": "2026-04-20T12:00:00.000Z",
  "five_hour": {
    "used_percentage": 42,
    "resets_at": "2026-04-20T15:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "seven_day": {
    "used_percentage": 84,
    "resets_at": "2026-04-27T12:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

Example Configuration

{
  "language": "zh",
  "lineLayout": "expanded",
  "pathLevels": 2,
  "elementOrder": ["project", "tools", "skills", "mcp", "context", "usage", "memory", "environment", "agents", "todos", "sessionTime"],
  "projectLineOrder": ["project", "model"],
  "gitStatus": {
    "enabled": true,
    "showDirty": true,
    "showAheadBehind": true,
    "showFileStats": true
  },
  "jjStatus": {
    "enabled": true,
    "showDirty": true,
    "showConflicts": true
  },
  "display": {
    "showTools": true,
    "showSkills": true,
    "showMcp": 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

Jujutsu (jj) support

Set jjStatus.enabled to true to opt in. When a real .jj directory is found in (or above) the working directory, the HUD shows jj-native status instead of git — the two are mutually exclusive per invocation, even in a colocated jj+git repo. If jj cannot be queried safely, a colocated repository falls back to its existing git status.

With a bookmark: [Opus] │ my-project jj:(mybookmark)

Anonymous change (no bookmark at @): [Opus] │ my-project jj:(wrulwzyw)

Dirty working copy: [Opus] │ my-project jj:(mybookmark*)

Unresolved conflict: [Opus] │ my-project jj:(mybookmark !conflict)

Ahead/behind counts and per-file change stats are git-only in this version — jj's equivalent requires more expensive revset queries against remote_bookmarks(), so they're left out to keep the jj status fetch to a single subprocess call.

The HUD runs jj in prompt-safe, read-only mode: it disables the pager, ignores the live working copy, and reads the current operation without reconciling it. That avoids snapshotting files or mutating repository state during statusline refreshes. As a result, the dirty marker reflects jj's most recent working-copy snapshot and can remain stale until another jj command records new changes.

Auto-Refresh

Claude Code only re-runs the statusline after an interaction (a new assistant message, /compact finishing, a permission-mode change, or a vim-mode toggle), so time-based HUD info — session duration, usage reset countdowns, the prompt-cache countdown — goes stale between messages. To keep it ticking, add refreshInterval (seconds, minimum 1) to the statusLine entry in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "...",
    "refreshInterval": 5
  }
}

/claude-hud:setup offers this during installation. Each refresh re-runs the HUD command, so 5 seconds is a good default; use 1 second only if you want visibly smooth countdowns.

Disabling the HUD Temporarily

Set the CLAUDE_HUD_DISABLE environment variable to launch a session without the HUD — no need to remove the statusLine entry from settings.json:

CLAUDE_HUD_DISABLE=1 claude

Leaving it unset (or setting an explicit negative: 0, false, off, no) keeps the HUD enabled. When disabled, the HUD exits immediately without reading the transcript or running git, so the statusline simply stays empty for that session.

Troubleshooting

Config not applying?

Check for JSON syntax errors: invalid JSON silently falls back to defaults
Ensure valid values: pathLevels must be 1, 2, 3, or full; lineLayout must be expanded or compact; maxWidth must be a positive number
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

jj status missing, or seeing git:(...) in a jj repo?

Verify a .jj directory exists at or above the working directory
Set jjStatus.enabled to true in config (jj support is opt-in)
Verify the jj binary is installed and on PATH

Tool/skill/MCP/agent/todo lines missing?

These are hidden by default — enable with showTools, showSkills, showMcp, showAgents, showTodos in config
They also only appear when there's activity to show

HUD not appearing after setup?

Send any message — settings reload automatically, but the statusline only renders after your next interaction
If it still doesn't appear, restart Claude Code (fully quit and run claude again) — older Claude Code versions require a restart to pick up statusLine changes
Make sure CLAUDE_HUD_DISABLE is not set in your environment (e.g. exported from a shell profile) — it silences the HUD entirely, including setup verification

Requirements

Claude Code v1.0.80+
macOS/Linux: Node.js 18+ or Bun
Windows: Node.js 18+

Development

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

Installation

Skill body

Claude HUD

Install

What is Claude HUD?

What You See

Default (2 lines)

Optional lines (enable via /claude-hud:configure)

How It Works

Configuration

Presets

Manual Configuration

Options

Usage Limits

Security Notes

Example Configuration

Display Examples

Jujutsu (jj) support

Auto-Refresh

Disabling the HUD Temporarily

Troubleshooting

Requirements

Development

License

Star History

Related skills

Skill body

Skill body

Claude HUD

Install

What is Claude HUD?

What You See

Default (2 lines)

Optional lines (enable via /claude-hud:configure)

How It Works

Configuration

Presets

Manual Configuration

Options

Usage Limits

Security Notes

Example Configuration

Display Examples

Jujutsu (jj) support

Auto-Refresh

Disabling the HUD Temporarily

Troubleshooting

Requirements

Development

License

Star History

Related skills

Optional lines (enable via `/claude-hud:configure`)

Optional lines (enable via `/claude-hud:configure`)