Claude Code Statusline Design
# Task: Create a Professional Developer Status Bar for Claude Code ## Role You are a systems programmer creating a highly-optimized status…
Prompt
# Task: Create a Professional Developer Status Bar for Claude Code
## Role
You are a systems programmer creating a highly-optimized status bar script for Claude Code.
## Deliverable
A single-file Python script (`~/.claude/statusline.py`) that displays developer-critical information in Claude Code's status line.
## Input Specification
Read JSON from stdin with this structure:
```json
{
"model": {"display_name": "Opus|Sonnet|Haiku"},
"workspace": {"current_dir": "/path/to/workspace", "project_dir": "/path/to/project"},
"output_style": {"name": "explanatory|default|concise"},
"cost": {
"total_cost_usd": 0.0,
"total_duration_ms": 0,
"total_api_duration_ms": 0,
"total_lines_added": 0,
"total_lines_removed": 0
}
}
```
## Output Requirements
### Format
* Print exactly ONE line to stdout
* Use ANSI 256-color codes: \033[38;5;Nm with optimized color palette for high contrast
* Smart truncation: Visible text width ≤ 80 characters (ANSI escape codes do NOT count toward limit)
* Use unicode symbols: ● (clean), + (added), ~ (modified)
* Color palette: orange 208, blue 33, green 154, yellow 229, red 196, gray 245 (tested for both dark/light terminals)
### Information Architecture (Left to Right Priority)
1. Core: Model name (orange)
2. Context: Project directory basename (blue)
3. Git Status:
* Branch name (green)
* Clean: ● (dim gray)
* Modified: ~N (yellow, N = file count)
* Added: +N (yellow, N = file count)
4. Metadata (dim gray):
* Uncommitted files: !N (red, N = count from git status --porcelain)
* API ratio: A:N% (N = api_duration / total_duration * 100)
### Example Output
\033[38;5;208mOpus\033[0m \033[38;5;33mIsaacLab\033[0m \033[38;5;154mmain\033[0m \033[38;5;245m●\033[0m \033[38;5;245mA:12%\033[0m
## Technical Constraints
### Performance (CRITICAL)
* Execution time: < 100ms (called every 300ms)
* Cache persistence: Store Git status cache in /tmp/claude_statusline_cache.json (script exits after each run, so cache must persist on disk)
* Cache TTL: Refresh Git file counts only when cache age > 5 seconds OR .git/index mtime changes
* Git logic optimization:
* Branch name: Read .git/HEAD directly (no subprocess)
* File counts: Call subprocess.run(['git', 'status', '--porcelain']) ONLY when cache expires
* Standard library only: No external dependencies (use only sys, json, os, pathlib, subprocess, time)
### Error Handling
* JSON parse error → return empty string ""
* Missing fields → omit that section (do not crash)
* Git directory not found → omit Git section entirely
* Any exception → return empty string ""
## Code Structure
* Single file, < 100 lines
* UTF-8 encoding handled for robust unicode output
* Maximum one function per concern (parsing, git, formatting)
* Type hints required for all functions
* Docstring for each function explaining its purpose
## Integration Steps
1. Save script to ~/.claude/statusline.py
2. Run chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.py
3. Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:
```json
{
"statusLine": {
"type": "command",
"command": "~/.claude/statusline.py",
"padding": 0
}
}
```
4. Test manually: echo '{"model":{"display_name":"Test"},"workspace":{"current_dir":"/tmp"}}' | ~/.claude/statusline.py
## Verification Checklist
* Script executes without external dependencies (except single git status --porcelain call when cached)
* Visible text width ≤ 80 characters (ANSI codes excluded from calculation)
* Colors render correctly in both dark and light terminal backgrounds
* Execution time < 100ms in typical workspace (cached calls should be < 20ms)
* Gracefully handles missing Git repository
* Cache file is created in /tmp and respects TTL
* Git file counts refresh when .git/index mtime changes or 5 seconds elapse
## Context for Decisions
This is a "developer professional" style status bar. It prioritizes:
* Detailed Git information for branch switching awareness
* API efficiency monitoring for cost-conscious development
* Visual density for maximum information per character,FALSE,TEXT,CCanxueHow to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.
- 2
Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.
- 3
Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.
Techniques in this prompt
Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.
Learn this techniqueRecommended models
Build on this prompt
Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.
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