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Show the model and git branch in Claude Code with a 6-line status line script

#ai #claudecode #git #productivity

When you run Claude Code in a few repos at once, it's easy to lose track of which branch you're on and which model is answering. Claude Code has a configurable status line for exactly this: a small script whose output shows up under the prompt.

How it works

You point statusLine in your settings at a command. Claude Code runs it, passes session details as JSON on stdin, and shows the first line the script prints.

In ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "~/.claude/statusline.sh"
  }
}
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The script

~/.claude/statusline.sh:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
input=$(cat)
model=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.model.display_name')
dir=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.workspace.current_dir')
branch=$(git -C "$dir" branch --show-current 2>/dev/null)
echo "[$model] ${dir##*/}${branch:+ on $branch}"
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Make it executable with chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.sh, and you'll see something like [Sonnet] api on fix/login-timeout under the prompt.

Tips

  • Keep it fast. It runs often, so avoid network calls or slow git commands.
  • It needs jq. If you'd rather not install it, the same script works in a few lines of Python reading sys.stdin.
  • Put it in your user settings, not the project file, since it's a personal preference rather than a team rule.
  • Type /statusline in Claude Code if you'd like it to draft a script for you.

The team-side setup that goes with this (a short CLAUDE.md, shared permissions, a risky-git hook and a read-only reviewer subagent) ships in Vildanden Agent Config. The free sample is enough to get started today.

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