Claude Code currently does not display timestamps next to messages in the conversation view (terminal CLI, desktop, or web app). This makes it hard to:
- Track when a long-running task actually started or finished
- Re-orient after stepping away from a session for a while
- Audit when specific decisions or code changes were made
- Understand pacing across a multi-hour session
Other AI tools handle this well — Manus shows a timestamp label in the right margin of each message, ChatGPT and Claude.ai (web) show timestamps on hover. The underlying data already exists in Claude Code: every message in ~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session>.jsonl has a timestamp field. It just isn't surfaced in the UI.
Suggested implementation:
- Add an opt-in setting in
settings.json, e.g.:
"showMessageTimestamps": true
- Display a subtle timestamp on hover, or as a small label in the margin (similar to Manus) to avoid visual clutter
- Consider relative time for recent messages ("2 min ago") and absolute for older ones (HH:MM)
- Optional: a status-line variable like
{currentTime} as a stopgap
Use case: solo founder running long multi-hour Claude Code sessions across several projects. Without timestamps it's easy to lose track of when something was discussed or shipped.
Thanks!
Claude Code currently does not display timestamps next to messages in the conversation view (terminal CLI, desktop, or web app). This makes it hard to:
Other AI tools handle this well — Manus shows a timestamp label in the right margin of each message, ChatGPT and Claude.ai (web) show timestamps on hover. The underlying data already exists in Claude Code: every message in
~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session>.jsonlhas atimestampfield. It just isn't surfaced in the UI.Suggested implementation:
settings.json, e.g.:{currentTime}as a stopgapUse case: solo founder running long multi-hour Claude Code sessions across several projects. Without timestamps it's easy to lose track of when something was discussed or shipped.
Thanks!