Pulse
A small, native macOS menu bar app that shows what your Mac and your AI tools are using: CPU, memory, and how much of your Claude, Codex, Copilot, Gemini or API allowance is left.
It's lightweight (about 1% of one CPU core while closed), has no dependencies or account, and keeps everything on your Mac.
Requirements
- Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 14 or later
- Apple's Command Line Tools (the installer offers to install them)
Install
In Terminal:
git clone https://github.com/123-Cheese-Online-LLC/pulse && cd pulse && ./scripts/install.sh
The installer:
- Checks your Mac and builds Pulse on it. A Mac-built app isn't blocked by Gatekeeper the way a downloaded one is.
- Installs Pulse to
~/Applications and opens it.
- Asks whether to connect Claude for exact limits. This runs Claude Code's own sign-in; skip it and Pulse shows tokens used instead.
- Asks whether to add Pulse to Claude Code's status line. Default no; it edits your Claude settings, with a backup.
Updates: Pulse checks GitHub about once a day. When there's a new version it sends one notification and shows Update in the panel; clicking it rebuilds Pulse on your Mac (about a minute) and restarts it. You can also use ••• → Check for updates. Copies installed before version 1.8 can't update themselves, so reinstall them once with git pull && ./scripts/install.sh.
Use
- Menu bar: up to three AI usage dials, then a CPU graph and percentage (choose CPU, Memory, or both in •••). If macOS runs out of menu bar room (a busy app, a screen-share indicator) and hides Pulse, it shrinks in steps so it stays visible: first it drops the graphs (keeping CPU and MEM), then the MEM readout if needed, and tries full size again when you switch apps.
- Hover the menu bar for every AI tool's limits and when they reset.
- Click to open the panel:
- CPU and memory over the last 2 minutes. Click a chart to rank apps by that metric.
- AI tiles, one per connected tool. A tile shows the limit closest to running out, e.g.
84% 5h. Click a tile to pin it to the menu bar (max three).
- + Add to track OpenAI or Anthropic API spend with an admin key. Saved keys show there with Remove.
- Apps using the most, with Show app, Quit and Force Quit. Finder offers Relaunch Finder. Background processes can be stopped when they run under your account; system processes and ones your login session depends on stay protected.
- ••• menu: menu bar readout, Launch at login, Quit Pulse.
AI tools
Tools appear on their own once they're set up on the Mac. Nothing extra is downloaded or installed.
| Tool | Shows | How Pulse reads it |
|---|
| Claude Code | 5-hour and weekly % | Claude Code's login, read-only. Without one, Pulse estimates (~%, marked est.) from Claude Code's local logs using the tokens-per-percent it learned from your last exact reading, and finds your open 5-hour window and its reset time |
| Codex | 5-hour and weekly % | The Codex CLI's read-only rate-limit call |
| GitHub Copilot | Chat, completions, premium % (once you've used it) | gh api /copilot_internal/user with your GitHub CLI login (unofficial endpoint) |
| Gemini CLI | Tokens, last 5 hours and 7 days | Local session files in ~/.gemini/tmp |
| Cursor | Included usage % for the current period (weekly or monthly) | The Cursor app's own sign-in, read-only (unofficial endpoint) |
| OpenAI API | $ this month | Costs API, admin key in + Add → API billing (advanced) |
| Anthropic API | $ this month | Cost API, admin key in + Add → API billing (advanced) |
Check what Pulse can read on your Mac (prints no keys or tokens). Add -a to also list tools that aren't set up:
/usr/bin/python3 ~/Applications/Pulse.app/Contents/Resources/usage_bridge.py status
Deciding between a plan and API billing? This adds up every Claude Code and Codex response in your local logs and prices it at standard API rates (this month, last 30 days, all time, by model). Codex's codex-auto-review model has no public price and is listed as unpriced. It's also in ••• → Token usage at API prices.
/usr/bin/python3 ~/Applications/Pulse.app/Contents/Resources/usage_bridge.py tokens
Privacy
- Readings stay on your Mac in
~/Library/Application Support/Pulse.
- Pulse never reads conversation text, only usage numbers.
- Logins are only sent to the service they belong to. Pulse never refreshes or edits another app's login.
- Admin keys are stored in your macOS Keychain.
Uninstall
osascript -e 'tell application id "local.koz46.pulse" to quit'
rm -rf ~/Applications/Pulse.app ~/Library/Application\ Support/Pulse
defaults delete local.koz46.pulse
security delete-generic-password -s "Pulse: openai-admin-key"; security delete-generic-password -s "Pulse: anthropic-admin-key"
If you added the Claude Code status line, remove the Pulse statusLine entry from ~/.claude/settings.json (a backup is at settings.json.pulse-backup) and the PULSE USAGE ADVISORY blocks from ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md and ~/.codex/AGENTS.md.
Development
./scripts/build.sh # builds build.noindex/Pulse.app
./scripts/test.sh # unit and native checks
open build.noindex/Pulse.app --args --capture /tmp/pulse.png # renders the panel, menu bar and hover card to PNGs
Add --detail to capture the busiest app's detail view. To add an AI tool, write one reader function in Integrations/usage_bridge.py that saves a usage record, and register it in PROVIDERS.
Version notes are in docs/CHANGELOG.md.
