Claude Code Status Line

A Go binary that renders the Claude Code status line. Reads JSON from stdin, writes ANSI-colored output to stdout. No external dependencies -- stdlib only.

Replaces the original shell script (statusline.sh) which spawned 8+ subprocesses (jq, awk, sed) per invocation.

AI Disclaimer

This program was entirely vibe coded with Claude Opus 4.6.
As such, the author can't be held responsible for incorrect output.

Layout

status line demo

 Model (effort) | ━━━━━━━╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ 35% | tokens/window | cache | $cost | tok/min | (5h%) | (7d%) | ⟳ 3d4h

Section	Description	Colors (256-color)
Model badge	Diamond + model name sans "Claude " prefix	Purple diamond (141), bold light purple name (183)
Effort level	Current effort in parentheses; omitted if absent	Purple (141)
Progress bar	20-segment context window usage with 4 gradient tiers	Green-to-red gradient; dark gray (238) unfilled
Percentage	Context window usage percent, color-matched to tier	Green (108) / yellow (222) / orange (209) / red (196)
Token counter	Used tokens / window size with auto-scaling (k/M)	Blue diamond (75), light blue (117), dark blue-gray (60)
Cache	Cache read tokens; omitted if zero	Yellow bolt (220), tan text (179)
Session cost	Estimated USD cost	Light green (156)
Tokens/min	Session token throughput; omitted if <5s elapsed	Steel-blue arrow (110), light cyan value (152)
Rate limit (5h)	5-hour session limit usage; omitted if absent	Green (108) / yellow (222) / red (196)
Rate limit (7d)	7-day weekly limit usage; omitted if absent	Green (108) / yellow (222) / red (196)
Reset countdown	Time until 7-day limit resets; omitted if absent	Gray (245), "now" if past

Sections are separated by gray (240) pipe characters.

Installation

GOBIN=~/.claude go install -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" github.com/jftuga/claude-statusline@latest

Or manually:

make install

-trimpath -- removes local filesystem paths (username, directory structure) from the binary
-ldflags="-s -w" -- strips the symbol table (-s) and DWARF debug info (-w)

Check the installed version with ~/.claude/claude-statusline -v.

Then in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "~/.claude/claude-statusline"
  }
}

Flags

Individual sections can be hidden with --no-* flags:

Flag	Hides
`--no-model`	Model name and effort level
`--no-bar`	Progress bar and percentage
`--no-tokens`	Token counter
`--no-cached`	Cache indicator
`--no-cost`	Session cost
`--no-tpm`	Tokens per minute
`--no-5h`	5-hour rate limit
`--no-7d`	7-day rate limit

Append flags directly to the command in settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "~/.claude/claude-statusline --no-bar --no-cached --no-cost"
  }
}

JSON Input

The binary reads the Claude Code status line JSON from stdin. Fields consumed:

model.display_name
context_window.used_percentage
context_window.context_window_size
context_window.current_usage.{cache_read_input_tokens,cache_creation_input_tokens,input_tokens,output_tokens}
effort.level
cost.total_cost_usd
cost.total_duration_ms
context_window.total_input_tokens
context_window.total_output_tokens
rate_limits.five_hour.used_percentage
rate_limits.seven_day.used_percentage
rate_limits.seven_day.resets_at (unix epoch)

Benchmark vs Shell Script

Tested 2026-04-25 on macOS Darwin 25.4.0, Apple Silicon, Go 1.26.2.

Benchmarked with hyperfine: 10 warmup runs, 200 minimum runs per benchmark, identical JSON piped to both via stdin.

Implementation	Mean	Std Dev	Range
Go binary	1.8 ms	0.2 ms	1.5 - 2.9 ms
Shell script	47.5 ms	0.8 ms	46.0 - 51.0 ms

Go is 26.9x faster. The shell version pays fork/exec overhead for every jq, awk, and sed call. The Go binary parses JSON once and formats everything in-process.

hyperfine --warmup 10 --min-runs 200 \
  "echo '$SAMPLE' | ~/.claude/claude-statusline" \
  "echo '$SAMPLE' | ~/.claude/statusline.sh"

References

Claude Code status line documentation -- official docs for configuring the statusLine setting in settings.json and the JSON payload schema
full_json_schema.json -- complete JSON payload sent by Claude Code to the status line command via stdin, captured and used as the reference for all available fields
ANSI 256-color chart -- color index reference for the \033[38;5;Nm escape sequences used throughout

Personal Project Disclosure

This program is my own original idea, conceived and developed entirely:

On my own personal time, outside of work hours
For my own personal benefit and use
On my personally owned equipment
Without using any employer resources, proprietary information, or trade secrets
Without any connection to my employer's business, products, or services
Independent of any duties or responsibilities of my employment

This project does not relate to my employer's actual or demonstrably
anticipated research, development, or business activities. No
confidential or proprietary information from any employer was used
in its creation.