Install
brew tap RossNicholson/tap
brew trust --cask rossnicholson/tap/clawdbar
brew install --cask clawdbar
Homebrew 7 asks you to trust casks from other taps before installing them. On older versions of Homebrew, skip the brew trust line.
Open ClawdBar, then click Allow access & continue. macOS asks once for permission to read your Claude Code sign-in from the Keychain.
Requirements: macOS 13 Ventura or later · Claude Code installed and signed in · a Claude Pro or Max plan
Updating
Open Settings → Check for updates → Update ClawdBar, and it quits, updates and reopens on its own. You can also run brew upgrade --cask clawdbar in Terminal. If you installed ClawdBar from the DMG instead, Check for updates asks GitHub for the latest version and opens its download page.
On ClawdBar 1.0.6 or earlier with Homebrew 7? If Update ClawdBar doesn't work, update once from Terminal:
brew upgrade --cask rossnicholson/tap/clawdbar
Features
- In your menu bar: two numbers, like
42% · 27%, for your 5-hour session and 7-day weekly usage. They're coloured green, then orange from 50%, then red from 80%.
- At a glance: click for a colour-block card per limit (mint, then butter, then peach), with the exact percentage, a progress bar and when it resets.
- Weekly forecast: a striped "ghost" on the weekly bar shows where you'll be at reset at your current pace, with a plain verdict: plenty to spare, how much a day you can use and still last, or roughly when you'll run out.
- Usage alerts: an optional notification when a limit passes your threshold (50–95%, 80% by default). Each limit alerts once per window, even if ClawdBar restarts.
- Your pace: check every 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Anthropic allows a usage check about every 5 minutes, the same as Claude Code's own
/usage; the refresh button can check again after a minute.
- Its own sign-in, if you want it: ClawdBar normally uses Claude Code's sign-in. You can also log in with Claude directly, so it keeps working when Claude Code's session expires.
- Make it bigger: drag the grip in the panel's bottom-right corner. ClawdBar remembers the size.
- Launch at login, light and dark mode, VoiceOver support, and a small cat who waves hello.
- Native SwiftUI, with no Electron.
How it works
- Your sign-in. ClawdBar reads the Claude Code sign-in saved in your Mac's Keychain (the
Claude Code-credentials entry the Claude Code app and CLI create). If you've logged in with ClawdBar itself, it uses that instead. It never changes Claude Code's sign-in.
- A read-only check. At your chosen interval, ClawdBar asks Anthropic's API for your usage, the same figures Claude Code's
/usage shows. It only reads them, so checking uses none of your limits.
- The numbers. Anthropic answers with the share of each limit you've used and when it resets. That's everything ClawdBar shows.
ClawdBar's own sign-in uses the same sign-in flow as Claude Code. Anthropic doesn't document it, so a change on their side could mean ClawdBar needs an update.
Privacy
ClawdBar collects nothing: no analytics, no accounts of its own, no tracking.
- Your sign-in stays in your Keychain and is only ever sent to Anthropic.
- The only servers it talks to are Anthropic's:
api.anthropic.com for your usage, plus Claude's sign-in pages if you use ClawdBar's own login.
- Updates go through Homebrew, as they do in Terminal.
FAQ
How is it different from Claude Code's /usage command or ccusage?
/usage shows the same limits, but only inside a Claude Code session. ClawdBar keeps them in your menu bar all the time, and can alert you before you hit one. Tools like ccusage add up token counts from Claude Code's local logs. ClawdBar shows the percentages Anthropic itself reports for your Pro or Max plan.
It says "No usage data in the response".
Usage limits come from Claude Pro and Max plans. On a plan without them (for example API credits only), Anthropic doesn't send the figures ClawdBar reads.
It says my credentials were rejected.
Claude Code's session has expired. Open Claude Code to refresh it, or click Log in in ClawdBar to give it a sign-in of its own.
Can I change how often it checks?
Yes: Settings → Refresh every. Fewer checks use even less of your limits.
How do I uninstall it?
Run brew uninstall --cask clawdbar. Add --zap to remove its settings too.
Build from source
git clone https://github.com/RossNicholson/clawdbar.git
cd clawdbar
make setup # installs xcodegen if needed and generates the .xcodeproj
make run # builds and launches
The .xcodeproj isn't checked in. It's generated from project.yml, so run make generate after adding files.
| Command | What it does |
|---|
make test | Run the unit tests |
make screenshots | Render the panel, popovers and welcome screen with sample usage into build/screenshots |
make dmg | Build a local signed and notarized DMG (doesn't publish) |
make release VERSION=x.y.z | Ship a release; see RELEASING.md |
Bug reports, feature ideas and pull requests are welcome. Open an issue to start.
Support
ClawdBar is made by Ross Nicholson, who also makes BrewDock. For help, see the support page or email [email protected].
If ClawdBar helps you pace your day, you can buy me a coffee ☕
License
MIT. See LICENSE.
The look and the menu bar panel come from HouseStyle (MIT), shared with my other Mac apps, BrewDock, Mop Up, KeyBar, Repo Radar and MacPing. Its bundled fonts, Barlow Condensed and Geist Mono, are under the SIL Open Font License. ClawdBar is an independent app and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic. Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of Anthropic.
