Statusline Generator
Overview
This skill provides tools and guidance for creating and customizing Claude Code statuslines. It generates multi-line statuslines optimized for portrait screens, integrates with ccusage for session/daily cost tracking, displays git branch status, and supports color customization.
When to Use This Skill
This skill activates for:
- Statusline configuration requests for Claude Code
- Cost information display (session/daily costs)
- Multi-line layouts for portrait or narrow screens
- Statusline color or format customization
- Statusline display or cost tracking issues
- Git status or path shortening features
Dependencies
The statusline script needs to parse JSON from stdin. It auto-detects the available parser:
| Priority | Tool | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (preferred) | jq | macOS/Linux: brew install jq / apt install jq; Windows: choco install jq or scoop install jq |
| 2 (fallback) | python3 | Pre-installed on macOS and most Linux distros; Windows: winget install python3 or python.org |
If neither is available, context window and cost display will be skipped — git branch and path still work.
Other requirements:
git— for branch status (optional; gracefully skips outside repos)awk— for number formatting (installed on macOS/Linux by default; Git Bash on Windows includes it)ccusage— for session/daily cost tracking (optional; gracefully skips if missing)
Quick Start
Basic Installation
Install the default multi-line statusline:
- Run the installation script:
bash scripts/install_statusline.sh - Restart Claude Code to see the statusline
The default statusline displays:
- Line 1:
username (model) [session_cost/daily_cost] ctx: 89.5K/1.0M (9%) - Line 2:
current_path - Line 3:
[git:branch*+]
Manual Installation
Alternatively, manually install by:
- Copy
scripts/generate_statusline.shto~/.claude/statusline.sh - Make it executable:
chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.sh - Update
~/.claude/settings.json:{"statusLine": {"type": "command", "command": "bash /home/username/.claude/statusline.sh", "padding": 0}}
Statusline Features
Multi-Line Layout
The statusline uses a 3-line layout optimized for portrait screens:
username (Sonnet 4.5 [1M]) [$0.26/$25.93] ctx: 89.5K/1.0M (9%)
~/workspace/java/ready-together-svc
[git:feature/branch-name*+]Benefits:
- Shorter lines fit narrow screens
- Clear visual separation of information types
- No horizontal scrolling needed
Cost Tracking Integration
Cost tracking via ccusage:
- Session Cost: Current conversation cost
- Daily Cost: Total cost for today
- Format:
[$session/$daily]in magenta - Caching: 2-minute cache to avoid performance impact
- Background Fetch: First run loads costs asynchronously
Requirements: ccusage must be installed and in PATH. See references/ccusage_integration.md for installation and troubleshooting.
Model Name Shortening
Model names are automatically shortened:
"Sonnet 4.5 (with 1M token context)"→"Sonnet 4.5 [1M]""Opus 4.1 (with 500K token context)"→"Opus 4.1 [500K]"
This saves horizontal space while preserving key information.
Context Window Display
The statusline can show actual context window usage with human-readable token counts — not just a percentage. This is the most important statusline feature for long sessions.
Format:
ctx: 88.9K/1.0M (9%)Components:
- Used tokens:
current_usage.input_tokens + cache_read_input_tokens + cache_creation_input_tokens - Total capacity:
context_window_sizefrom the input JSON - Percentage: Shown in parentheses as secondary info
- Human-readable:
<1000→ raw,≥1000→X.XK,≥1M→X.XM - Color-coded: Green (≤50%), Yellow (51–80%), Red (>80%)
Important: Use current_usage.* fields to compute actual context usage. total_input_tokens is the session-cumulative count and can exceed the context window size.
Full statusline input JSON schema (all available fields): references/context-window-schema.md.
Git Status Indicators
Git branch status shows:
- Yellow: Clean branch (no changes)
- Red: Dirty branch (uncommitted changes)
- Indicators:
- * - Modified or staged files - + - Untracked files - Example: [git:main*+] - Modified files and untracked files
Path Shortening
Paths are shortened:
- Home directory replaced with
~ - Example:
/home/username/workspace/project→~/workspace/project
Color Scheme
Default colors optimized for visibility:
- Username: Bright Green (
\033[01;32m) - Model: Bright Cyan (
\033[01;36m) - Costs: Bright Magenta (
\033[01;35m) - Path: Bright White (
\033[01;37m) - Git (clean): Bright Yellow (
\033[01;33m) - Git (dirty): Bright Red (
\033[01;31m)
Customization
Changing Colors
Customize colors by editing ~/.claude/statusline.sh and modifying the ANSI color codes in the final printf statement. See references/color_codes.md for available colors.
Example: Change username to blue
# Find this line:
printf '\033[01;32m%s\033[00m \033[01;36m(%s)\033[00m%s\n\033[01;37m%s\033[00m\n%s' \
# Change \033[01;32m (green) to \033[01;34m (blue):
printf '\033[01;34m%s\033[00m \033[01;36m(%s)\033[00m%s\n\033[01;37m%s\033[00m\n%s' \Single-Line Layout
Convert to single-line layout by modifying the final printf:
# Replace:
printf '\033[01;32m%s\033[00m \033[01;36m(%s)\033[00m%s\n\033[01;37m%s\033[00m\n%s' \
"$username" "$model" "$cost_info" "$short_path" "$git_info"
# With single-line + context:
printf '\033[01;36m[%s]\033[00m \033[01;35m%s\033[00m%s | %bctx: %s/%s (%s%%)\033[00m | \033[01;32m$%s\033[00m' \
"$model" "$short_dir" "$git_info" "$ctx_color" "$ctx_used_h" "$ctx_size_h" "$ctx_used_pct" "$cost"
# Output: [Sonnet 4.5 [1M]] project (main*) | ctx: 89.5K/1M (9%) | $0.42Disabling Cost Tracking
If ccusage is unavailable or not desired:
- Comment out the cost section in the script (lines ~47-73)
- Remove
%sfor$cost_infofrom the finalprintf
See references/ccusage_integration.md for details.
Adding Custom Elements
Add custom information (e.g., hostname, time):
# Add variable before final printf:
hostname=$(hostname -s)
current_time=$(date +%H:%M)
# Update printf to include new elements:
printf '\033[01;32m%s@%s\033[00m \033[01;36m(%s)\033[00m%s [%s]\n...' \
"$username" "$hostname" "$model" "$cost_info" "$current_time" ...Troubleshooting
Costs Not Showing
Check:
- Is
ccusageinstalled? Runwhich ccusage - Test
ccusagemanually:ccusage session --json --offline -o desc - Wait 5-10 seconds after first display (background fetch)
- Check cache:
ls -lh /tmp/claude_cost_cache_*.txt
Solution: See references/ccusage_integration.md for detailed troubleshooting.
Colors Hard to Read
Solution: Adjust colors for your terminal background using references/color_codes.md. Bright colors (01;3X) are generally more visible than regular (00;3X).
Statusline Not Updating
Check:
- Verify settings.json points to correct script path
- Ensure script is executable:
chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.sh - Restart Claude Code
Git Status Not Showing
Check:
- Are you in a git repository?
- Test git commands:
git branch --show-current - Check git permissions in the directory
Resources
scripts/generate_statusline.sh
Main statusline script with all features (context window, multi-line, ccusage, git, colors). Copy to ~/.claude/statusline.sh for use.
scripts/install_statusline.sh
Automated installation script that copies the statusline script and updates settings.json.
references/context-window-schema.md
Complete statusline input JSON schema. Documents all fields under context_window, cost, model, workspace. Load for context window display implementation or debugging.
references/color_codes.md
Complete ANSI color code reference for customizing statusline colors. Load when users request color customization.
references/ccusage_integration.md
Detailed explanation of ccusage integration, caching strategy, JSON structure, and troubleshooting. Load when users experience cost tracking issues or want to understand how it works.