If you use Claude every day, you already know the problem. You’re deep in a session, the answers are flowing, and then you get cut off because you hit a limit you didn’t see coming. Checking your Claude usage means stopping, opening settings, then usage, just to read a number. It’s a small thing that breaks your focus over and over.
So I built a Claude usage widget that does the checking for me. It’s a little pet that sits in the corner of your screen and shows your live session and weekly usage all the time, no clicking required. It even speaks up before you run out. Here’s how it works and why it’s become the thing I keep on every monitor.
Why tracking your Claude usage is such a pain
Claude gives you a session limit and a weekly all-models limit. Both matter, and both are easy to lose track of. The usage page tells you where you stand, but only when you go looking, and you never go looking until you’re already worried. By then you’re one prompt away from a wall.
That’s the gap this fills. Instead of a page you have to open, your usage becomes something you glance at, the same way you glance at a clock. No tab, no menu, no guessing.
What the Claude Usage Status widget does
It’s a desktop widget built as a small character, a crab, that lives on top of your wallpaper or floats over your work. Under the character is a clean panel with three things: your usage percent in a big readout, a progress bar, and the reset line that tells you when your limit refreshes.
There’s a label on the panel so you always know what you’re looking at, and a weekly view you can flip on to see your all-models usage underneath the session line. One glance gives you the whole picture: how much you’ve used this session, how much this week, and when both reset.
It reads your real usage, live
This part matters. The widget isn’t guessing or estimating from your prompts. There’s a hidden window that quietly reads your actual Claude usage page and pulls the real numbers, the same ones you’d see if you opened settings yourself. You never see that window. It does the work in the background and feeds the pet.
The reset line reads straight from Claude too. Your session shows a countdown and the clock time it comes back. Your weekly line shows the day and time it resets, so you see something like “resets Sat 4:59 AM,” pulled live from your own account. Everyone sees their own real reset day, not a hardcoded guess.
You sign in once and it stays signed in across launches, so from then on it just works quietly in the background. Hiding the pet doesn’t stop the reading either. It keeps tracking in the tray, so your numbers are current the moment you bring it back.
It warns you before you hit the limit
The whole widget changes color as you climb. It starts calm, warms up as you get busier, then goes red when you’re getting close. When you cross 75 percent, it doesn’t just sit there. It speaks up out loud and fires a Windows notification, even when it’s tucked away in the system tray. At 100 percent it tells you the limit’s reached and flips over, so you know without checking anything.
That’s the real value. You get the warning while you’re working, before the wall, without watching a number. If sound isn’t your thing, the notification still shows, and you can mute the voice on its own.
It’s a pet, so you’ll actually look at it
A number in the corner is easy to ignore. A little creature is not. This one hops, it blinks, and it gets hungry every 15 to 30 minutes. You feed it, three bites to fill it up, and it thanks you. It’s a small bit of fun that gives you a reason to glance over, which is exactly when you catch your usage climbing.
Don’t worry about neglecting it. Ignoring the pet won’t hurt it. The only time it flips over gray is at 100 percent usage, never from skipping a meal.
Make it yours
You can style it to match your desktop. Right-click and open the color picker, and it opens right next to the pet so you see every change live. Set the panel color, the percent, the reset line, and the weekly line, and on the crab you can even lock the body to any color you like or leave it on auto.
There are three sizes too, default, mid, and large, so it fits whether you’re on a laptop or a big monitor, and it stays sharp at every one. Prefer no creature on your desk? Switch to panel-only mode. Want your wallpaper showing through? Turn on the translucent panel. There’s a minimal view when you want it out of the way. It bends to how you work instead of forcing a look on you.
Ask it about your usage
Double-click the character and a little chat box opens. Type a question, or tap the mic and just talk. Ask “what’s my usage” or “when do I reset,” and it answers out loud. It’s a quick helper for the questions you’d otherwise open a page to answer.
Two buddies: a Claude crab and a Gemini monster
There are two flavors, same design. A Claude crab for your Claude limits, and a Gemini monster that does the exact same job for your Gemini usage, session and weekly, read live from your Gemini account. Run one, or run both side by side if you split your work across models. Each has its own hotkey so they don’t fight over the keyboard.
No install headaches? Use the browser version
Here’s the part I like for anyone who doesn’t want an app running. There’s a browser version of the widget, a single HTML file. While the desktop app is running, the browser widget shows your real percent from the app’s local feed, so you can tuck the app away in the tray and keep the pet on a page instead. Drop it onto a browser tab you keep open, or set it as a piece of a live wallpaper.
The browser widget carries the same personality: it changes color, it feeds, it pops the same “heads up” and “limit reached” alerts, and it has a color picker and the same size control built right into the bar. It’s the low-friction way to keep an eye on your usage without a desktop install, and it’s handy for streaming or recording since it lives right in the browser.
Watch it in action
Words only go so far with something this visual. Here’s a short walkthrough showing the color shifts, the alerts, feeding, the customization, and both pets side by side:
Who it’s for
If you live in Claude or Gemini for work, writing, coding, research, or content, and you’ve ever been surprised by a limit, this is for you. It’s also a nice fit if you record or stream your AI work, because your usage stays visible on screen without a tab in the way. And if you just like a bit of personality on your desktop, that’s reason enough.
How to get it
The Usage Pet is coming to Gumroad soon. If you want it before then, reach out and I’ll send it over. Tell me which one you’d run, the Claude crab or the Gemini monster, or both.
FAQ
Does the widget read my real Claude usage?
Yes. A hidden window reads your actual Claude usage page and pulls the real session and weekly numbers, live. It’s not an estimate based on your prompts.
Does it show my weekly usage and reset day?
Yes. Flip on the weekly view to see your all-models usage under the session line, with the day and time it resets, like “resets Sat 4:59 AM,” read from your own account.
Will it warn me before I hit my limit?
It warns you at 75 percent with a voice alert and a Windows notification, and again at 100 percent, even when it’s hidden in the tray.
Is there a version without installing an app?
Yes. There’s a browser version, a single HTML file, that shows your live usage from the running app and carries the same features. You can drop it onto a page or a wallpaper.
Does it work for Gemini too?
Yes. There’s a Gemini monster that tracks your Gemini session and weekly usage the same way the crab tracks Claude.
Does it send my usage data anywhere?
No. It runs on your own machine and reads your logged-in usage page locally. Your numbers stay on your computer, nothing gets uploaded, and it’s light enough to leave running all day.