timestamps

⏱ Timestamps — a clean conversation timeline for Claude Code

See exactly when every message in your Claude Code session was sent.

A zero-dependency, cross-platform Claude Code plugin. It adds a /timestamps:log command that prints a clean, date-grouped timeline of your conversation — every message with a full [HH:MM:SS] timestamp — plus an optional always-on clock for the status bar.

--- Message Timeline ---

Thu 14 May 2026

[14:51:52] Llewellyn:
what is the time?

[14:51:55] Claude:
It's 2:51 PM, Thursday 14 May 2026.

Showing 2 of 48 messages.

Why

Claude Code doesn't show timestamps on messages. In a long session you lose track of when things happened — when you asked something, when a task started, how long ago a decision was made. The data exists in Claude Code's transcript files, but it's buried in JSON. This plugin surfaces it as a clean, readable timeline whenever you want it.

Why on-demand instead of live?

Honest answer: Claude Code's plugin system cannot put a clean timestamp on a live message. Hooks can't modify message bubbles, and any visible hook output is forced through a ⎿ <Event> says: wrapper that clutters the transcript. Rather than ship something noisy, this plugin does the part Claude Code can do well — a clean, accurate timeline on demand — plus an optional status-bar clock for an always-visible current time. See How it works for the detail.

This plugin was inspired by s-a-s-k-i-a/claude-code-timestamps. It is a ground-up rewrite: pure Node instead of Python (so it works on Windows out of the box), with seconds, full dates, date grouping, and the [time] Name: layout.

What you get

Feature	Detail
/timestamps:log	A clean, date-grouped timeline of recent messages, each with a [HH:MM:SS] Name: header.
Full precision	Hours, minutes, and seconds, plus a date header per day. Local timezone.
Your name, automatically	Your messages are labelled with your OS username by default (configurable).
Optional status-bar clock	An opt-in live clock for the bottom of the terminal: ⏱ 14:51:55 · Thu 14 May 2026.
Zero config	Works immediately. An optional config.json customises everything.
Self-contained	Pure Node, no dependencies, no install step, no background processes. Doesn't register hooks, doesn't touch your other settings.

Install

Requirements: Claude Code with plugin support, and Node.js — which ships with Claude Code, so it's already there. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Option A — install from GitHub (recommended)

Inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add llewellynvz/claude-code-timestamps
/plugin install timestamps@claude-code-timestamps

Then restart Claude Code (or run /reload-plugins). The /timestamps:log command is now available in every session.

Option B — install from a local copy

If you have this repository cloned on disk:

/plugin marketplace add "/path/to/claude-code-timestamps"
/plugin install timestamps@claude-code-timestamps

Replace /path/to/claude-code-timestamps with wherever you cloned this folder (quote it if the path contains spaces). The marketplace name comes from marketplace.json and is claude-code-timestamps.

Option C — load it for a single session (development / trying it out)

claude --plugin-dir "/path/to/claude-code-timestamps"

This loads the plugin for that session only, without installing anything.

Verify it's working

• Run /timestamps:log — you should see the timeline.
• Run claude plugin validate . from this folder — it should report Validation passed.

Usage

/timestamps:log         # last 20 messages, with timestamps, grouped by day
/timestamps:log 50      # last 50 messages
/timestamps:log 5       # just the last 5

Each entry is rendered as:

[14:51:52] Llewellyn:
what is the time?

— a [HH:MM:SS] Name: header, the message text below it, and a blank line before the next entry. Messages are grouped under a Thu 14 May 2026 date header. Long messages are trimmed to a readable preview length.

Configuration

The plugin works with no configuration at all. To customise it, create a file called config.json in the plugin's data directory.

Where the data directory is:

Install method	config.json location
Installed from a marketplace	~/.claude/plugins/data/timestamps-claude-code-timestamps/config.json
Loaded via --plugin-dir	~/.claude/plugins/data/timestamps-inline/config.json
Fallback (if the above is unavailable)	<your OS temp dir>/claude-timestamps/config.json

On Windows, ~ is C:\Users\<you>. The directory is created automatically the first time the plugin runs.