The latest articles on DEV Community by Christian Heilig (@popeye785). https://dev.to/popeye785 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4186564%2Fd80a3872-ac2b-46d7-8ce6-3116d0d06be0.png https://dev.to/popeye785 en Christian Heilig Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:37:48 +0000 https://dev.to/popeye785/seeing-your-claude-code-usage-without-asking-a-tiny-hook-that-prints-one-line-1m7g https://dev.to/popeye785/seeing-your-claude-code-usage-without-asking-a-tiny-hook-that-prints-one-line-1m7g <p>If you use Claude Code on a Pro or Max plan, two numbers decide your day: how full the <strong>context</strong> is, and how much of your <strong>5-hour and weekly usage</strong> is gone. I kept forgetting to check them — and then hit the limit mid-task.</p> <p>So I wrote a small plugin that answers the question before I ask it.</p> <h2> What it does </h2> <p>After an answer, if anything changed, one quiet line appears:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>📊 Context 9 % · 5h 23.5 % · week 19 % · Session $1.50 </code></pre> </div> <p>and the same values sit in a band above the prompt. No prompts, no popups, nothing is blocked or denied. If a value isn't available, it is left out instead of guessed.</p> <h2> How it works (the interesting part) </h2> <p>Claude Code plugins can register hooks. The plugin listens for the end of each turn, reads the session's usage through the plugin API, and only prints when the numbers differ from the last line — otherwise the conversation would fill up with noise.</p> <p>A few rules I set for myself, which I'd recommend for any hook you install:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Fail open.</strong> If anything goes wrong (file missing, value invalid), the hook does nothing. A status helper must never break your session.</li> <li> <strong>Time-box everything.</strong> Every read has a deadline; a slow disk can't stall a turn.</li> <li> <strong>Off switch you can reach without the tool:</strong> creating <code>~/.config/agent-mods/lagezeile.off</code> turns it off.</li> <li> <strong>Never invent numbers.</strong> A missing value is omitted, not estimated.</li> </ol> <h2> Try it </h2> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>/plugin marketplace add Popeye785/agent-mods /plugin install lagezeile@agent-mods </code></pre> </div> <p>It's free. Source and README: <a href="https://github.com/Popeye785/agent-mods" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/Popeye785/agent-mods</a></p> <p>I also sell a few paid plugins for businesses (a model picker that routes simple tasks to a cheaper model, a safety net before risky shell commands, and an action log). They're listed in the README if you're curious — no need to buy anything to use lagezeile.</p> <p>Feedback welcome — especially on what other number you'd want in that line.</p> <p><em>Independent project, not affiliated with Anthropic. Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of Anthropic.</em><br> <em>Author: Christian Heilig, Previsa KI, Clara-Schumann-Straße 11, 97241 Bergtheim, Germany · <a href="mailto:kontakt@previsa.de">kontakt@previsa.de</a> · <a href="https://previsa.de/#impressum" rel="noopener noreferrer">Impressum / legal notice</a></em></p> claudecode ai productivity cli