[FEATURE] Add status bar to Desktop App

[Noah0025]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

The Desktop App only shows the current model name in the bottom-right corner. Users have no visibility into context window usage or rate limit consumption (5h / 7d limits), which makes it hard to manage usage across sessions — especially on Pro/Max plan where limits reset on a rolling basis.

Proposed Solution

Honor the existing statusLine configuration in settings.json within the Desktop App. The CLI already supports this:

{
"statusLine": {
"type": "command",
"command": "bash ~/.claude/statusline-command.sh"
}
}

The Desktop App should render the command output as a persistent bar at the bottom of the window, identical to CLI behavior. No new API surface needed — just extend the existing setting to the Desktop App.

Alternative Solutions

Currently using the CLI version in a terminal window alongside the Desktop App to monitor status. This is a workaround, not a solution.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

1. I'm on Claude Max plan and working across multiple long sessions.
2. I want to know how much of my 5-hour rate limit I've used before starting a heavy task.
3. With statusLine support in the Desktop App, my custom script would show ctx usage and limit reset times at a glance — just like in the terminal.

Additional Context

The CLI statusLine feature is already documented and working. This is purely a feature parity request for the Desktop App. The setting key statusLine exists in settings.json and is silently ignored by the Desktop App today.

[github-actions]

Found 1 possible duplicate issue:

1. [Feature Request] Claude Code for Desktop: native context window usage indicator #33257

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[Astro-Han]

The existing CLI statusLine support already solves this problem surprisingly well.

I use claude-pace in the terminal specifically to keep context and quota awareness always visible, so the Desktop app falling back to a much thinner status display feels like a real capability gap rather than a separate UX choice.

If Desktop simply honored the same statusLine config, a lot of useful workflows would carry over immediately.

[LMUoD]

This is not the same issue as #33257.

This issue is about adding support to the statusline to the desktop app, which would be a welcome addition to enable the use of many CLI plugins which rely on it. Would definitely be useful!

[kuba-guzik]

+1 — Same applies to the VSCode extension. The statusLine config in settings.json works perfectly in the terminal CLI but is completely ignored in the VSCode panel.

Having cost, token count, time, and context % visible while working in VSCode would be very helpful. Just honoring the existing statusLine config would cover both Desktop and VSCode in one go.

[MystroDave]

+1 on this. Adding a use case that complements the rate-limit / context-usage angle: git branch and worktree visibility.

I work across multiple git worktrees simultaneously (one per in-flight PR) and frequently need to glance down and confirm which branch/worktree my current Claude Code session is in before committing, pushing, or running infra changes. My statusLine command already surfaces:

/Users/me/project [wkt:feature-xyz] (branch+!) model-name

— blue cwd, + for staged, ! for unstaged, worktree name when applicable — and it renders perfectly in the Claude Code CLI. It's silently ignored by the desktop app.

Honoring statusLine in the desktop app would cover at least three distinct pain points with a single change:

1. Current git branch (critical for multi-worktree workflows)
2. Rate-limit / context usage (per the OP)
3. Any custom script users want — Max plan timers, k8s context, cloud-env pinning, etc.

The statusLine config shape is already documented and stable. Desktop parity here is pure upside — no new API, no new settings key, just "don't silently drop the output."

[chrisgdial]

+1 on this, I'd really like to be able to display my custom statusline in the Desktop app, this is really the only thing preventing my from completely switching over to the Desktop app at this point.