v0.2.11 - Taskbar band follows the tray account

What's new

• The taskbar band follows the account you pick. Picking another account under Accounts in the tray menu now switches the taskbar band to it right away. Before, the band kept showing the old account until the next refresh.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.11-win-x64.zip.
2. Unzip it anywhere you like.
3. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

If you already run v0.2.9 or later from a release zip, use Check for updates and install… in the tray menu instead.

Requirements: Windows 11 (or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime) and a Claude subscription. The build is self-contained, so no .NET install is needed.

v0.2.10 - Duplicate account guard

What's new

• Same login added twice is caught. If you sign an account in with a Claude.ai login that another account in the widget already uses, the widget no longer copies that account's numbers. It shows an "Account added twice" notice with a Sign in button, so you can sign in with the right login.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.10-win-x64.zip.
2. Unzip it anywhere you like.
3. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

If you already run v0.2.9 from the release zip, use Check for updates and install… in the tray menu instead.

Requirements: Windows 11 (or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime) and a Claude subscription. The build is self-contained, so no .NET install is needed.

v0.2.9 - Self-update from the tray

What's new

• Check for updates and install… — a new tray menu item. It checks the latest GitHub release, downloads it and restarts the widget on the new version. Updates work from this release onward.
• Account names placed in a cell now sit inside a ring, matching the dials around them.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.9-win-x64.zip.
2. Unzip it anywhere you like.
3. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Requirements: Windows 11 (or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime) and a Claude subscription. The build is self-contained, so no .NET install is needed.

v0.2.8 - Panel opacity, lighter WebView2, .NET 10

What's new

• Much less memory between refreshes. The hidden browser each account uses to read claude.ai is now closed 15 seconds after the last refresh, so its processes no longer sit in memory for the whole session (around 435 MB freed with four accounts).
• Panel opacity. New tray submenu Opacity (100 / 82 / 60 / 40 / 20 / 0 %). Only the panel background changes; the dials and notices stay fully opaque. The default is the current 82 %.
• Subscription plan stays current. The plan line (Pro / Max / Team) is re-read once an hour per account instead of once ever.
• Export v3. The per-account export file gains plan and availableModels; existing readers of v2 keep working.
• Tray menu above the taskbar. The right-click menu no longer opens partly behind the taskbar.
• Accounts. The sign-in window shows the account's current name, the panel stays on screen when an account is added, and the taskbar band updates immediately when accounts are added, removed or renamed.
• Reliability fix. A browser process dying in the middle of a refresh can no longer freeze that account's dials until a restart, and older WebView2 runtimes keep working.
• Runs on .NET 10 (bundled; nothing to install).

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.8-win-x64.zip below.
2. Unzip it anywhere.
3. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Requires Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime, and a Claude subscription. The build is self-contained: no .NET installation needed.

v0.2.7 - Centred menu highlight

What's new

• The tray menu's hover highlight is centred in its row. WinForms lays a menu item out a few pixels wider than the window it sits in, so the highlight had its whole margin on the left and none on the right.

Everything from v0.2.6 — the light theme with a System / Dark / Light switch, and the redesigned tray menu — is in this build too; if you are upgrading from v0.2.5 or earlier, that release's notes describe it.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.7-win-x64.zip and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime. A Claude subscription is required. The build is self-contained: no .NET install needed.

v0.2.6 - Light theme and a new tray menu

What's new

• Light theme, and a switch for it. Theme in the tray menu: System (follows Windows' app theme and tracks it live — the default), Dark, or Light. The panel and the tray menu change together, no restart. The tray icon's digits and the taskbar band follow the taskbar's own colour instead, so they stay readable whichever theme you pick.
• A redesigned tray menu. It is drawn in the widget's own palette now, with the panel's colours, an icon on every top-level item, a tick in the accent colour instead of the boxed check, the system menu font, and rounded corners on Windows 11. Rows are 28 px rather than 32, and a submenu opens against the menu instead of 23 px clear of it.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.6-win-x64.zip and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime. A Claude subscription is required. The build is self-contained: no .NET install needed.

v0.2.5 - Classic view is back

What's new

• The classic panel is back. Layout → Classic in the tray gives the pre-account look: a 2x2 grid of dials with the service status as the fourth dial, no account name and no caption line under the grid. It is the default with a single account; Account rows (one row per account with its name) becomes the default once a second account is added. Both stay switchable at any time.
• Taskbar band views. Band shows → Three metrics restores the old 5H / 7D / model band for the tray account (default with one account); All accounts keeps the per-account name and 5-hour figure (default with two or more).
• Hover header restored. Hovering the panel shows the eye (hide), a pencil that opens the layout editor, and the lock — the same buttons as before, plus the pencil.
• The "drag a cell to swap" hint under the panel is gone, so entering the layout editor no longer changes the panel's height.

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.5-win-x64.zip and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime. A Claude subscription is required. The build is self-contained: no .NET install needed.

v0.2.4 - Multiple accounts

What's new

• Multiple accounts (up to four). Each account is its own WebView2 profile, so cookies, organizations and rate-limit backoff are independent. The panel shows one row per account; the tray gains an Accounts submenu (add, rename, sign out and remove, pick which account the tray icon shows). Upgrading from a single-account install keeps you signed in.
• Edit the layout on the panel itself. Layout → Edit layout… outlines the cells; drag one onto another to swap them. A button strip beside the panel switches flow directions, account-name placement, the plan line, the status line or dial, the per-model dial, lock and hide.
• Optional subscription plan line under the account name (off by default).
• Optional usage export. Set ExportDirectory in settings.json and every account writes <account>.widget.json after each successful refresh, atomically.
• Diagnostics log at %LOCALAPPDATA%\ClaudeUsageWidget\widget.log: failed and retried navigations, WebView2 process failures, sign-in windows. Rotates at 1 MB.
• Sign-in fixes. The sign-in window names its account, reopens correctly after being closed, and accepts a pasted magic link. A 4xx answer is now reported as an HTTP status instead of "navigation failed"; transient navigation failures are retried once.
• The taskbar band shows every account's 5-hour figure and reset time.

Thanks to @vitaliy-shatskiy for this release's feature work (#1).

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.4-win-x64.zip and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe.

Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime. A Claude subscription is required. The build is self-contained: no .NET install needed.

v0.2.3 - Rock-solid taskbar band

What's new

A full overhaul of taskbar band visibility — the band no longer blinks or vanishes while the taskbar is visible, and reacts fast when you actually go fullscreen:

• No more random disappearing. The band could get painted over when the shell raised the taskbar above it (toggling windows from the tray did this every time) — burial is now detected the moment the z-order changes and fixed before you can see a frame of it
• Fullscreen-game ghosts ignored. After leaving an exclusive-fullscreen game, its DWM-cloaked window could linger invisibly over the taskbar for hours and trick the band into hiding — the probe now asks DWM what is actually rendered
• Transient tool overlays filtered. Screenshot tools (e.g. ShareX) briefly cover the taskbar with invisible windows on every window maximize — a hide verdict is now re-confirmed before it is applied, so sub-second overlays never blink the band
• Snappy real fullscreen. When the taskbar is covered by the active window (a fullscreen video player, a game), the band hides in ~250 ms and returns just as quickly when you leave

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.3-win-x64.zip below and unzip anywhere
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe
3. Sign in to claude.ai in the window that opens — dials go live after the first refresh
4. Optional: enable "Launch at login" from the tray menu

Requires Windows 11 (or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime installed) and a Claude subscription (Pro/Max/Team). Self-contained build — no .NET installation needed.

v0.2.2 - App icon

What's new

• The app now has a proper icon (dark rounded square with a green dial arc) — visible in the Start menu, Explorer and on shortcuts
• Dynamic README badges: CI status, latest release and license are pulled live from GitHub

Install

1. Download ClaudeUsageWidget-v0.2.2-win-x64.zip below and unzip anywhere
2. Run ClaudeUsageWidget.App.exe
3. Sign in to claude.ai in the window that opens — dials go live after the first refresh
4. Optional: enable "Launch at login" from the tray menu

Requires Windows 11 (or Windows 10 with the WebView2 Runtime installed) and a Claude subscription (Pro/Max/Team). Self-contained build — no .NET installation needed.