Show HN: Claude Code Usage Monitor – real-time tracker to dodge usage cut-offs
🎯 Claude Code Usage Monitor
A beautiful real-time terminal monitoring tool for Claude AI token usage. Track your token consumption, burn rate, and get predictions about when you'll run out of tokens.
📑 Table of Contents
✨ Features
- 🔄 Real-time monitoring - Updates every 3 seconds with smooth refresh
- 📊 Visual progress bars - Beautiful color-coded token and time progress bars
- 🔮 Smart predictions - Calculates when tokens will run out based on current burn rate
- 🤖 Auto-detection - Automatically switches to custom max when Pro limit is exceeded
- 📋 Multiple plan support - Works with Pro, Max5, Max20, and auto-detect plans
⚠️ Warning system - Alerts when tokens exceed limits or will deplete before session reset- 💼 Professional UI - Clean, colorful terminal interface with emojis
- ✨ No screen flicker - Smooth updates without clearing the entire screen
- ⏰ Customizable reset times - Set your own token reset schedule
🚀 Installation
Prerequisites
- Python 3.6+ installed on your system
- pytz Python package:
pip install pytz
- ccusage CLI tool installed globally:
npm install -g ccusage
Quick Setup
# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/Maciek-roboblog/Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor.git cd Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor # Make the script executable chmod +x ccusage_monitor.py # Run the monitor ./ccusage_monitor.py
📖 Usage
Basic Usage
Run with default settings (Pro plan - 7,000 tokens):
./ccusage_monitor.py
💡 Smart Detection: When tokens exceed the Pro limit, the monitor automatically switches to custom_max mode and displays a notification.
Specify Your Plan
# Pro plan (~7,000 tokens) - Default ./ccusage_monitor.py --plan pro # Max5 plan (~35,000 tokens) ./ccusage_monitor.py --plan max5 # Max20 plan (~140,000 tokens) ./ccusage_monitor.py --plan max20 # Auto-detect from highest previous session ./ccusage_monitor.py --plan custom_max
Custom Reset Times
Set a custom daily reset hour (0-23):
# Reset at 3 AM ./ccusage_monitor.py --reset-hour 3 # Reset at 10 PM ./ccusage_monitor.py --reset-hour 22
Timezone Configuration
The default timezone is Europe/Warsaw. You can change it to any valid timezone:
# Use US Eastern Time ./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone US/Eastern # Use Tokyo time ./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone Asia/Tokyo # Use UTC ./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone UTC # Use London time ./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone Europe/London
Exit the Monitor
Press Ctrl+C
to gracefully exit the monitoring tool.
📊 Understanding Claude Sessions
How Sessions Work
Claude Code operates on a 5-hour rolling session window system:
- Sessions start with your first message to Claude
- Sessions last for exactly 5 hours from that first message
- Token limits apply within each 5-hour session window
- Multiple sessions can be active simultaneously
Token Reset Schedule
Default reset times (in your configured timezone, default: Europe/Warsaw):
04:00
,09:00
,14:00
,18:00
,23:00
⚠️ Important: These are reference times. Your actual token refresh happens 5 hours after YOUR first message in each session.
🌍 Timezone Note: The default timezone is Europe/Warsaw. You can change it using the
--timezone
parameter with any valid timezone name.
Burn Rate Calculation
The monitor calculates burn rate based on all sessions from the last hour:
- Analyzes token consumption across overlapping sessions
- Provides accurate recent usage patterns
- Updates predictions in real-time
🛠️ Token Limits by Plan
Plan | Token Limit | Best For |
---|---|---|
Pro | ~7,000 | Light usage, testing (default) |
Max5 | ~35,000 | Regular development |
Max20 | ~140,000 | Heavy usage, large projects |
Custom Max | Auto-detect | Automatically uses highest from previous sessions |
🔧 Advanced Features
Auto-Detection Mode
When using --plan custom_max
, the monitor:
- 🔍 Scans all previous session blocks
- 📈 Finds the highest token count used
- ⚙️ Sets that as your limit automatically
- ✅ Perfect for users with varying token limits
Smart Pro Plan Switching
When using the default Pro plan:
- 🔍 Monitor detects when usage exceeds 7,000 tokens
- 🔄 Automatically switches to custom_max mode
- 📢 Shows notification of the switch
▶️ Continues monitoring with the new limit
⚡ Best Practices
- 🚀 Start Early: Begin monitoring when you start a new session
- 👀 Watch Velocity: Monitor burn rate indicators to manage usage
- 📅 Plan Ahead: If tokens will deplete before reset, adjust your usage
- ⏰ Custom Schedule: Set
--reset-hour
to match your typical work schedule - 🤖 Use Auto-Detect: Let the monitor figure out your limits with
--plan custom_max
🐛 Troubleshooting
"Failed to get usage data"
- Ensure
ccusage
is installed:npm install -g ccusage
- Check if you have an active Claude session
- Verify
ccusage
works:ccusage blocks --json
"No active session found"
- Start a new Claude Code session
- The monitor only works when there's an active session
Cursor remains hidden after exit
printf '\033[?25h'
Display issues or overlapping text
- Ensure your terminal window is at least 80 characters wide
- Try resizing your terminal and restarting the monitor
🚀 Example Usage Scenarios
Morning Developer
# Start work at 9 AM daily
./ccusage_monitor.py --reset-hour 9
Night Owl Coder
# Often work past midnight
./ccusage_monitor.py --reset-hour 0
Heavy User with Variable Limits
# Let the monitor figure out your limits
./ccusage_monitor.py --plan custom_max
Quick Check with Default Settings
# Just run it!
./ccusage_monitor.py
International User
# Use your local timezone
./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone America/New_York
./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone Asia/Singapore
./ccusage_monitor.py --timezone Australia/Sydney
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:
- 🐛 Report bugs or issues
- 💡 Suggest new features
- 🔧 Submit pull requests
- 📚 Improve documentation
📊 Help Us Improve Token Limit Detection
We're collecting data about actual token limits to improve the auto-detection feature. If you're using Claude and your tokens exceeded the standard limits, please share your experience in Issue #1:
What to share:
- Your subscription type (Pro, Teams, Enterprise)
- The maximum tokens you reached (custom_max value)
- When the limit was exceeded
- Any patterns you've noticed
This data helps us better understand token allocation across different subscription tiers and improve the monitoring tool for everyone.
📝 License
MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.
🙏 Acknowledgments
This tool builds upon the excellent ccusage by @ryoppippi, adding a real-time monitoring interface with visual progress bars, burn rate calculations, and predictive analytics.
- 🏗️ Built for monitoring Claude Code token usage
- 🔧 Uses ccusage for data retrieval
- 💭 Inspired by the need for better token usage visibility
⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful! ⭐
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