Claude in your menu bar: the tool you didn't know you needed

Let's talk about something deceptively simple: a tiny icon in your macOS menu bar that sits there quietly while Claude does its thing. Doesn't sound revolutionary, right? Wrong. Because that little icon actually does three specific things that, combined, change how you interact with Claude Code.

First up: there's an animated spark. Yes, literally. When Claude is processing something, you see a small animation flickering—it's your visual confirmation that nothing's frozen and work is happening. No invasive notifications, no popups. Just a subtle "yeah, something's happening over there."

Next to the spark is a timer tracking elapsed seconds. Useful? Depends what you do, but if you're the type who wants to understand how long Claude takes on a specific task, that number becomes gold. Five seconds for a refactor? Sixty for a detailed response? It's always visible.

Finally, the tool shows you Claude's open/closed status. Basically: is it running or not? Sounds trivial until you realize your battery's draining because an app ran in the background and you had no idea. This tool saves you from that frustration.

The code powering all this? Open source, refreshingly compact, built for people who appreciate elegant solutions without drama. No massive app, no colorful dashboards—just a tool that does one thing and does it right.

What's interesting is the philosophy behind it: while plenty of people build complex interfaces, someone realized that sometimes three pieces of information in a tiny corner can genuinely improve your day. It's minimalism done well—the kind you don't notice until you use it.