claude-code-statusline-development

Claude Code Statusline Development

Create custom status lines that display contextual information at the bottom of Claude Code.

Quick Reference

You MUST read the reference files for detailed schemas and examples:

• JSON Schema - Complete input structure documentation
• Example: Simple - Basic bash statusline
• Example: Git-Aware - Git branch and status
• Example: Context Usage - Context window percentage
• Example: Cost Tracking - Session costs and tokens

Configuration

Add to .claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "~/.claude/statusline.sh",
    "padding": 0
  }
}

How It Works

• Status line updates when conversation messages change
• Updates run at most every 300ms
• First line of stdout becomes the status line text
• ANSI color codes supported
• JSON context passed via stdin

JSON Input (Quick Reference)

Field	Description
model.display_name	Model name (e.g., "Opus")
workspace.current_dir	Current working directory
workspace.project_dir	Original project directory
cost.total_cost_usd	Session cost in USD
cost.total_lines_added	Lines added this session
cost.total_lines_removed	Lines removed this session
context_window.context_window_size	Max context tokens
context_window.current_usage	Current token usage object

See JSON Schema for complete structure.

Script Template

#!/bin/bash
input=$(cat)

# Extract values using jq
model=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.model.display_name')
dir=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.workspace.current_dir')

# Colors via tput
blue=$(tput setaf 4)
reset=$(tput sgr0)

echo "${blue}[$model]${reset} ${dir##*/}"

Make executable:

chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.sh

Tips

• Keep output concise - single line only
• Use tput for portable ANSI colors
• Test with mock JSON: echo '{"model":{"display_name":"Test"}}' | ./statusline.sh
• Cache expensive operations (git status) if needed

Important

After creating or modifying statuslines, inform the user:

No restart needed. Statusline changes take effect immediately - Claude Code reads settings fresh on each update.

Attribution

Based on Claude Code Status Line Configuration.