Claude HUD is a Claude Code plugin that displays real-time session information including context usage, active tools, running agents, and task progress in a persistent statusline.
The plugin addresses the need for visibility into Claude Code's internal state during development sessions. It works by hooking into Claude Code's native statusline API to display native token data and parse the session transcript for tool and agent activity. The display updates after each interaction, debounced at 300 milliseconds, and scales automatically with the context window size including larger 1M-context sessions. The default two-line display shows the model, provider label when identified, project path, git branch, and a color-coded context bar indicating usage levels. Additional optional lines can be enabled through configuration to show tool activity, agent tracking, and todo progress.
Developers should choose this tool if they work regularly in Claude Code and want to monitor context consumption before hitting limits, track which files Claude is reading or editing in real time, or manage multiple subagents within a session. The plugin requires no separate window or terminal multiplexer and works in any terminal environment. Installation happens within Claude Code itself through the marketplace, though Linux users on older versions may need to adjust the TMPDIR environment variable, and Windows users need Node.js LTS installed for the setup command.
The maintainers respond to issues and pull requests within a few days. Work in the issue tracker centers on bug reports, enhancement requests, and user questions.
