Claude Code Usage Monitor
A privacy-first Claude Usage-Ops companion for Claude Code. It combines a Rich live terminal monitor with official statusline rate_limits, machine-readable state/export output, provenance labels, forecasting, and an opt-in local usage warehouse.
Table of Contents
✨ Key Features
v4.0.0 Major Update - Usage Ops Companion
- ** Official-limit trust layer** -
--statusline captures Claude Code's official rate_limits; stale or expired captures fall back to labeled local estimates.
- ** Machine-readable protocol** -
--once, --compact, and --write-state all use one versioned snapshot builder with automation exit codes.
- ️ Provenance labels - exported and displayed numbers distinguish
official, local_estimate, experimental, and unknown confidence.
- ** Persistent usage warehouse** - opt-in local history survives Claude's 30-day cleanup with project/model/day dimensions and CSV/JSON reports.
- ** Forecasting and pace** - reset-aware pace, date-context forecasts, official-only weekly percentages, and limit-hit freeze behavior.
- ** Multi-source input** -
--data-paths, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, and WSL discovery can scan multiple directories without merging unrelated accounts into one 5-hour window.
- ️ Rich UI parity - live Rich output, rich one-shot output, compact output, state files, and exports use the same snapshot contract.
- ** External companion boundary** - GUIs, trays, provider adapters, and status bars should consume
--write-state or --once --output json.
- ** Regression coverage** - the non-integration suite now covers the trust layer, state protocol, warehouse, reports, title updates, multi-source paths, and timezone edge cases.
Default Custom Plan
The Custom plan is now the default option, specifically designed for 5-hour Claude Code sessions. It monitors three critical metrics:
- Token usage - Tracks your token consumption
- Messages usage - Monitors message count
- Cost usage - The most important metric for long sessions
The Custom plan automatically adapts to your usage patterns by analyzing all your sessions from the last 192 hours (8 days) and calculating personalized limits based on your actual usage. This ensures accurate predictions and warnings tailored to your specific workflow.
Installation
⚡ Modern Installation with uv (Recommended)
Why uv is the best choice:
- ✅ Creates isolated environments automatically (no system conflicts)
- ✅ No Python version issues
- ✅ No "externally-managed-environment" errors
- ✅ Easy updates and uninstallation
- ✅ Works on all platforms
The fastest and easiest way to install and use the monitor:
Install from PyPI
# Install directly from PyPI with uv (easiest)
uv tool install claude-monitor
# Run from anywhere
claude-monitor # or cmonitor, ccmonitor for short
Install from Source
# Clone and install from source
git clone https://github.com/Maciek-roboblog/Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor.git
cd Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor
uv tool install .
# Run from anywhere
claude-monitor
First-time uv users
If you don't have uv installed yet, get it with one command:
# On Linux/macOS:
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
# On Windows:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
# After installation, restart your terminal
Installation with pip
# Install from PyPI
pip install claude-monitor
# If claude-monitor command is not found, add ~/.local/bin to PATH:
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc # or restart your terminal
# Run from anywhere
claude-monitor # or cmonitor, ccmonitor for short
⚠️ PATH Setup: If you see WARNING: The script claude-monitor is installed in '/home/username/.local/bin' which is not on PATH, follow the export PATH command above.
⚠️ Important: On modern Linux distributions (Ubuntu 23.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 38+), you may encounter an "externally-managed-environment" error. Instead of using --break-system-packages, we strongly recommend:
- Use uv instead (see above) - it's safer and easier
- Use a virtual environment - python3 -m venv myenv && source myenv/bin/activate
- Use pipx - pipx install claude-monitor
See the Troubleshooting section for detailed solutions.
️ Other Package Managers
pipx (Isolated Environments)
# Install with pipx
pipx install claude-monitor
# Run from anywhere
claude-monitor # or claude-code-monitor, cmonitor, ccmonitor, ccm for short
conda/mamba
# Install with pip in conda environment
pip install claude-monitor
# Run from anywhere
claude-monitor # or cmonitor, ccmonitor for short
Usage
Get Help
# Show help information
claude-monitor --help
Available Command-Line Parameters
Parameter
Type
Default
Description
--plan
string
custom
Plan type: pro, max5, max20, team, or custom
--custom-limit-tokens
int
None
Token limit for custom plan (must be > 0)
--view
string
realtime
View type: realtime, daily, monthly, session, entries, sessions, or burn-rate
--output
string
rich
Output format: rich, json, text, or csv
--once
flag
False
Measure once, print a snapshot, and exit
--compact
flag
False
Single-line compact output for status bars
--write-state
flag
False
Write the snapshot to a state file for external tools
--state-file
path
None
State file path for --write-state
--statusline
flag
False
Run as a Claude Code statusline hook and capture official rate_limits
--api
flag
False
Enable the opt-in experimental Anthropic OAuth usage API
--data-paths
list
[]
Claude data directories to scan; repeat or comma-separate values
--warehouse
flag
False
Persist usage entries to the opt-in local warehouse
--warehouse-file
path
None
Usage warehouse file path
--warehouse-retention-days
int
365
Days of warehouse records to retain
--timezone
string
auto
Timezone (auto-detected). Examples: UTC, America/New_York, Europe/London
--time-format
string
auto
Time format: 12h, 24h, or auto
--theme
string
auto
Display theme: light, dark, classic, or auto
--refresh-rate
int
10
Data refresh rate in seconds (1-60)
--refresh-per-second
float
0.75
Display refresh rate in Hz (0.1-20.0)
--reset-hour
int
None
Daily reset hour (0-23)
--date-format
string
None
Date format for daily/monthly table periods
--abbreviate-tokens
flag
False
Abbreviate token counts in table views
--sparklines
flag
False
Show opt-in sparklines in table views
--filter-models
string
all
Use all models, or anthropic to exclude routed non-Claude models
--set-terminal-title
flag
False
Set the terminal title from the usage snapshot
--title-format
string
"{pct}% {plan}"
Terminal title template using pct, plan, used, limit, cost, reset
--hide-model-distribution
flag
False
Hide the model distribution bar
--no-header
flag
False
Hide the header banner
--no-emoji
flag
False
Render plain output without emoji
--log-level
string
INFO
Logging level: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
--log-file
path
None
Log file path
--debug
flag
False
Enable debug logging
--version, -v
flag
False
Show version information
--clear
flag
False
Clear saved configuration
Plan Options
Plan
Token Limit
Cost Limit
Description
pro
19,000
$18.00
Claude Pro subscription
max5
88,000
$35.00
Claude Max5 subscription
max20
220,000
$140.00
Claude Max20 subscription
team
estimate
unverified
Team label; prefer official statusline or --plan custom
custom
P90-based
(default) $50.00
Auto-detection with ML analysis
Command Aliases
The tool can be invoked using any of these commands:
- claude-monitor (primary)
- claude-code-monitor (full name)
- cmonitor (short)
- ccmonitor (short alternative)
- ccm (shortest)
Save Flags Feature
The monitor automatically saves your preferences to avoid re-specifying them on each run:
What Gets Saved:
- View type (--view)
- Plan (--plan)
- Theme preferences (--theme)
- Timezone settings (--timezone)
- Time format (--time-format)
- Refresh rates (--refresh-rate, --refresh-per-second)
- Reset hour (--reset-hour)
- Custom token limits (--custom-limit-tokens)
Configuration Location: ~/.claude-monitor/last_used.json
Usage Examples:
# First run - specify preferences
claude-monitor --plan pro --theme dark --timezone "America/New_York"
# Subsequent runs - preferences automatically restored
claude-monitor --plan pro
# Override saved settings for this session
claude-monitor --plan pro --theme light
# Clear all saved preferences
claude-monitor --clear
Key Features:
- ✅ Automatic parameter persistence between sessions
- ✅ CLI arguments always override saved settings
- ✅ Atomic file operations prevent corruption
- ✅ Graceful fallback if config files are damaged
- ✅ Plan is saved and restored between sessions (override any time with
--plan)
- ✅ An explicitly chosen theme is kept and not overwritten by auto-detection
Basic Usage
With uv tool installation (Recommended)
# Default (Custom plan with auto-detection)
claude-monitor
# Alternative commands
claude-code-monitor # Full descriptive name
cmonitor # Short alias
ccmonitor # Short alternative
ccm # Shortest alias
# Exit the monitor
# Press Ctrl+C to gracefully exit
Development mode
If running from source, use python -m claude_monitor from the src/ directory.
Machine-readable Usage Protocol
Use these surfaces when another tool needs current usage without scraping the Rich TUI:
# One-shot JSON snapshot with source/confidence/provenance fields
claude-monitor --once --output json
# Compact one-line status output
claude-monitor --once --compact
# Keep an atomically-written state file up to date for status bars and dashboards
claude-monitor --write-state --state-file ~/.claude-monitor/state/latest.json
# Install as a Claude Code statusline hook to capture official rate_limits
claude-monitor --statusline
--once exits with automation-friendly code