Guides/Claude Code usage trackers

The best Claude Code usage trackers for Mac

MerdoAI

Maker of Orcylo

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Quick answer

Orcylo is the best Claude Code usage tracker for Mac if you want your exact 5-hour and weekly limits in the menu bar beside the rest of your Mac. It alerts you at 80 % and 95 % and never reads your Claude login. CodexBar is the best free one and covers the most AI tools. ccusage is the pick for token and cost history in Terminal, and Claude Code's own /usage is enough if you only check now and then.

A Claude Code usage tracker answers one question: how much of my 5-hour and weekly limit is left, and when does it reset? The tools below reach that answer in three ways. Some read Claude Code's status line, some call Anthropic's usage endpoint with the sign-in Claude Code keeps in your Keychain, and some add up tokens from the session logs on your Mac. Which way a tool uses decides what it can show and what it needs access to, so each entry says so, along with the job it does best. We make Orcylo, the first entry.

#AppBest forPriceRuns in
1OrcyloBest overallExact limits in the menu bar, beside the rest of your Mac€5 at launch for the first 20 licences, then €7.50 for the next 30, then €9.99, once, for one Mac; no free trialMenu bar and a window
2CodexBarThe most AI tools in one menu bar, freeFree, open source (MIT)Menu bar, plus a CLI
3ClaudeBarQuotas in the notch, on the Touch Bar and on your iPhoneFree, open source (MIT)Menu bar and the notch
4Claude Usage TrackerSeveral Claude accounts on one MacFree, open source (MIT)Menu bar
5ccusageToken and cost history from local logsFree, open source (MIT)Terminal
6Claude Code Usage MonitorA live Terminal dashboard with forecastsFree, open source (MIT)Terminal
7ccstatuslineLimits inside Claude Code's own status lineFree, open source (MIT)Claude Code's status line
8Claude Code /usage and status lineChecking now and then, nothing to installIncluded with Claude CodeClaude Code: Terminal, VS Code and the desktop app
  1. 01

    Orcylo

    by us

    Best for: Exact limits in the menu bar, beside the rest of your Mac

    Price
    €5 at launch for the first 20 licences, then €7.50 for the next 30, then €9.99, once, for one Mac; no free trial
    Runs in
    Menu bar and a window

    A menu bar system monitor with Claude Code and Codex limits built in. It reads the exact 5-hour and weekly limits from Claude Code's status line through a small bridge that keeps your own status line running, and Codex's limits from its session logs. Each limit gets a ring, a countdown to the reset and pace bars, with notifications at 80 % and 95 % and when a limit resets. The rest of the app is a full system monitor: apps instead of processes, 30 days of history, dev servers by project.

    Good

    • Exact limits from Claude Code's status line, without your Claude login
    • Pace bars: time passed against limit used
    • Alerts at 80 %, 95 % and on reset
    • Codex limits, credits and tokens too
    • A full system monitor in the same menu bar

    Not so good

    • Paid up front: no free trial
    • Needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later
    • Claude limits update when a Claude Code session answers, not from claude.ai use alone
    Coming soon · €5Buy · €5Orcylo vs Activity Monitor
  2. 02

    CodexBar

    by Peter Steinberger

    Best for: The most AI tools in one menu bar, free

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Menu bar, plus a CLI

    A free menu bar app that shows session, weekly and monthly windows with reset countdowns for 87 AI providers, Claude and Codex among them, one status item each or merged into one. For Claude it reads usage through the OAuth API, browser cookies or a Claude Code CLI probe; for Codex, through the OAuth tokens in ~/.codex/auth.json or the Codex app server. Session quota notifications are optional.

    Good

    • Free and open source
    • The widest provider list on this page
    • Very actively maintained (0.70.0, September 30, 2026)
    • Also runs on Linux

    Not so good

    • Reads your Claude and Codex sign-ins: OAuth tokens, browser cookies or a CLI probe
    • Limits only, no system monitor
    CodexBar website
  3. 03

    ClaudeBar

    by tddworks

    Best for: Quotas in the notch, on the Touch Bar and on your iPhone

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Menu bar and the notch

    Tracks Claude's 5-hour, weekly and per-model limits plus Extra Usage, Codex's 5-hour and weekly limits and credits, and about 20 providers in all. Up to three providers sit in the menu bar as a percentage and a countdown, coloured by pace, with a notification before you run out. It can also show your quota in the MacBook notch, on the Touch Bar or on an iPhone Lock Screen. For Claude it runs claude /usage in the background or calls the OAuth usage API.

    Good

    • Notifications before you run out, with pace-aware colours
    • Notch, Touch Bar and iPhone widgets
    • Signed, notarized and on Homebrew

    Not so good

    • Needs macOS 15 or later
    • API mode refreshes at most every 15 minutes, because Anthropic throttles the usage endpoint
    ClaudeBar website
  4. 04

    Claude Usage Tracker

    by Hamed Elfayome

    Best for: Several Claude accounts on one Mac

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Menu bar

    A native menu bar app that tracks the 5-hour session, weekly and per-model limits (Fable, Opus, Sonnet) for as many Claude accounts as you like. It adds usage history charts, threshold notifications and a terminal status line. It signs in with Claude Code's own credentials, a built-in browser or a claude.ai session key, and stores them in the Keychain. Version 3.3.0, from August 29, 2026, added Codex.

    Good

    • Unlimited Claude profiles, all in the menu bar at once
    • Usage history charts and pace markers
    • Available in 13 languages

    Not so good

    • Reads your Claude sign-in or a claude.ai session key
    • Sends an anonymous, version-only heartbeat
    • Its status line needs a session key even when you use Claude Code's sign-in
    Claude Usage Tracker website
  5. 05

    ccusage

    by ryoppippi

    Best for: Token and cost history from local logs

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Terminal

    The best-known command-line tool for Claude Code usage. Run npx ccusage@latest and it reads the session logs on your Mac and reports tokens and estimated cost by day, week, month or session, for Claude Code, Codex and 16 other coding agents. ccusage blocks groups Claude Code usage into 5-hour windows, and a beta statusline command shows session and block cost inside Claude Code.

    Good

    • Nothing to install: one npx command
    • History by day, week, month, session and project
    • Reads local files, no sign-in

    Not so good

    • Costs are estimates at API prices, not your plan's percentages
    • 5-hour blocks are rebuilt from logs; any token limit is one you set
    ccusage website
  6. 06

    Claude Code Usage Monitor

    by Maciek-roboblog

    Best for: A live Terminal dashboard with forecasts

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Terminal

    A Python dashboard for the terminal, installed with pip install claude-monitor or uv tool install claude-monitor. It shows tokens, cost and messages in the current 5-hour window, with a burn rate and a forecast of when you will run out. Set up as a status line command with --statusline, it captures Claude Code's official rate limits. Otherwise it estimates your limit from the last eight days of sessions and labels the figure as an estimate.

    Good

    • Forecasts when the window will run out
    • Labels official numbers and estimates apart
    • Optional local history beyond Claude Code's 30-day cleanup

    Not so good

    • Official limits need the --statusline setup
    • Needs Python; the last release was in June 2026
    Claude Code Usage Monitor website
  7. 07

    ccstatusline

    by sirmalloc

    Best for: Limits inside Claude Code's own status line

    Price
    Free, open source (MIT)
    Runs in
    Claude Code's status line

    Turns Claude Code's status line into a configurable row of widgets with Powerline themes. Besides model, git branch and context, it has usage widgets for the session, the week, per-model weekly limits (Sonnet, Opus, Fable), extra usage and reset timers. You set it up in an interactive menu started with npx -y ccstatusline@latest. The usage widgets call Anthropic's usage API with the credentials Claude Code keeps in your Keychain.

    Good

    • Limits where you already look, inside Claude Code
    • Many widgets and themes, set up in a menu
    • Actively maintained (2.2.30, September 2026)

    Not so good

    • Only visible while a Claude Code session is open
    • Usage widgets read your Claude credentials from the Keychain
    ccstatusline website
  8. 08

    Claude Code /usage and status line

    by Anthropic

    Best for: Checking now and then, nothing to install

    Price
    Included with Claude Code
    Runs in
    Claude Code: Terminal, VS Code and the desktop app

    Claude Code already shows your limits. /usage has a bar for the session and one for the week, each with its reset time, and a breakdown of what used them by skill, subagent and MCP server. It warns you when most of a window is gone, and on Pro and Max it passes both limits to your status line, so a ten-line script can keep them on screen. VS Code and the desktop app have their own usage views.

    Good

    • Nothing to install
    • The official numbers, for the whole account
    • A breakdown by skill, subagent and MCP server

    Not so good

    • Only shows when you ask, unless you script the status line
    • No history beyond 7 days, and no Codex
    Claude Code /usage and status line website

Where each tracker gets its numbers

The display is the easy part. What separates these tools is the source of the figures. The source decides whether you see Anthropic’s own percentages or an estimate, whether the numbers move when no session is open, and whether the tool needs your Claude sign-in.

Tracker Where the numbers come from Reads your Claude sign-in Official percentages
Orcylo Claude Code’s status line, local transcripts, Codex session logs No Yes
CodexBar OAuth API, browser cookies or a CLI probe Yes Yes
ClaudeBar claude /usage run in the background, or the OAuth API In API mode Yes
Claude Usage Tracker Claude Code’s credentials or a claude.ai session key Yes Yes
ccusage Local session logs No No, estimates
Claude Code Usage Monitor Local logs, plus the status line with --statusline No With --statusline
ccstatusline Status line data, plus the usage API for usage widgets Usage widgets do Yes
/usage and status line Claude Code itself Not applicable Yes

What we found: six of the eight trackers show Anthropic’s official percentages, and a seventh can with an extra setting. Only three get them without your Claude sign-in: Orcylo, Claude Code Usage Monitor in --statusline mode, and Claude Code itself. Every other menu bar app we checked, ranked or not, reads the OAuth token in your Keychain, a claude.ai cookie or session key, or runs Claude Code in the background to read /usage.

Each source has a trade-off:

  • The status line is the row at the bottom of Claude Code that runs a script of your choosing. On Pro and Max it carries the official rate_limits figures, as Anthropic documents, with no extra access. It only updates when a session answers, so time spent on claude.ai alone shows up at the next Claude Code reply. Our guide to checking your Claude Code usage limits shows how to read it with a short script.

  • The usage endpoint is the Anthropic API that Claude Code’s own /usage asks for your plan limits. It works with no session open and covers the whole account, but it needs a credential that can act as you. It is also rate limited. Claude Code’s /usage falls back to the last bars it loaded when the endpoint refuses, as the Claude Code cost docs note, and ClaudeBar caches its API reads for 15 minutes for the same reason.

  • Local logs are the session transcripts Claude Code keeps on your Mac, under ~/.claude/projects. They give you history by day, project and model with no sign-in at all. They only cover this Mac, and turning tokens into a share of your plan is guesswork, because Anthropic does not publish the token size of a limit. For example, ccusage blocks rebuilds your 5-hour windows from the logs, but the token limit it measures them against is one you set, or your own busiest past block, not Anthropic’s figure.

When Claude Code’s own /usage is enough

If you check your limits once or twice a day, you do not need a tracker. /usage shows both windows with their reset times, Claude Code warns you when most of a window is gone, and Settings > Usage on claude.ai shows the same bars in a browser. The VS Code extension and the desktop app each have their own view.

A tracker earns its place in three cases. You work in long sessions or several at once, for example two Claude Code windows on different projects; you want a warning before Claude Code stops rather than when it does; or you split your work between Claude Code and Codex. For Codex’s side, see how to check your Codex usage limits.

Tracking Codex as well

If you split your work between Claude Code and Codex, five of the trackers above cover both, each in its own way:

  • Orcylo reads Codex’s session logs and shows your plan’s five-hour and weekly windows, credits and tokens, next to the Claude limits.
  • CodexBar reads Codex through the OAuth tokens in ~/.codex/auth.json or the Codex app server.
  • ClaudeBar shows Codex’s five-hour and weekly limits and credits.
  • Claude Usage Tracker added Codex in version 3.3.0, on August 29, 2026.
  • ccusage reports Codex tokens and cost from the logs on your Mac, alongside Claude Code.

Codex itself shows your limits with /status in the CLI and on its usage dashboard; how to check your Codex usage limits walks through both, including when each limit resets.

Checked, but not ranked

These smaller projects also put your Claude limits in the menu bar. Each reads the same kinds of credentials as the free apps above, so they are listed for completeness rather than ranked:

  • Usage4Claude: free and MIT-licensed, Claude and Codex, signs in through your browser or a session key; version 3.5.0 shipped on September 24, 2026.
  • ClaudeMeter: free and MIT-licensed, imports your claude.ai session from browser cookies; its last release was on May 19, 2026.
  • cclimit: free and MIT-licensed, reads the OAuth token Claude Code keeps in your Keychain; still at version 0.1.0.
  • Usagebar: $9 once, with a free tier; reads the same Keychain credentials. Its site does not name the maker.

How we checked

We make Orcylo, so read its ranking with that in mind. Every other entry was checked on October 1, 2026 against its maker’s own pages: the README, documentation and latest release on GitHub, or the maker’s site for prices. Anthropic’s Claude Code documentation was the source for what /usage and the status line show. This is a research comparison: we did not install or benchmark the third-party apps. Where a maker does not say whether a tool does something, the entry does not claim it either way.

We ranked on five things:

  1. Official numbers. Does it show Anthropic’s own percentages, or an estimate?
  2. In view. Can you see them without switching windows?
  3. Warning. Does it tell you before you run out?
  4. Access. What does it need: your status line, your logs or your sign-in?
  5. Price. What does it cost?

Orcylo is first because it is the only menu bar app here that shows official numbers with pace and alerts without touching your Claude sign-in. It also sits in the same menu bar as the rest of your Mac’s vitals; see Orcylo’s AI limits and pricing. CodexBar is second because it is free, very actively maintained and covers more AI tools than anything else here. If you want a full system monitor rather than a limits tracker, our best system monitors for Mac and best menu bar system monitors cover that. Prices and versions change; check the maker’s site before you install.

Questions people ask

What is the best Claude Code usage tracker for Mac?

Orcylo, if you want exact limits in the menu bar next to the rest of your Mac, with alerts at 80 % and 95 %, without an app reading your Claude login. CodexBar if you want a free menu bar tracker that covers the most AI tools.

Is there a free Claude Code usage tracker for Mac?

Yes, several. CodexBar, ClaudeBar and Claude Usage Tracker are free, MIT-licensed menu bar apps. ccusage, Claude Code Usage Monitor and ccstatusline are free in Terminal, and Claude Code's own /usage costs nothing extra.

Is it safe to give a tracker my Claude sign-in?

It depends on what the tracker reads. Tools that use Claude Code's status line or your local session logs never touch your sign-in. Tools that call Anthropic's usage endpoint use the OAuth token Claude Code keeps in your Keychain, or a claude.ai session cookie, and anything holding those can act as your account. Check each tool's documentation before you allow Keychain access.

Why does ccusage show different numbers from /usage?

ccusage adds up the tokens in the session logs on your Mac and prices them at API rates. /usage shows the percentage of your plan's limits that Anthropic counts, which includes claude.ai and other devices and does not map to a published token count.

Can one app track Claude Code and Codex?

Yes. Orcylo, CodexBar, ClaudeBar and Claude Usage Tracker show limits for both, and ccusage reports Codex tokens and cost alongside Claude Code.

Sources

  1. 1.Claude Code docs: Customize your status line (rate_limits) · code.claude.com
  2. 2.Claude Code docs: Manage costs effectively (/usage) · code.claude.com
  3. 3.CodexBar on GitHub (README, Claude and Codex provider docs, releases) · github.com
  4. 4.CodexBar website · codexbar.app
  5. 5.ClaudeBar on GitHub (README, Claude provider docs, releases) · github.com
  6. 6.Claude Usage Tracker on GitHub · github.com
  7. 7.ccusage on GitHub (README, statusline and blocks docs) · github.com
  8. 8.Claude Code Usage Monitor on GitHub · github.com
  9. 9.ccstatusline on GitHub (README, usage docs) · github.com
  10. 10.Usage4Claude on GitHub · github.com
  11. 11.ClaudeMeter on GitHub · github.com
  12. 12.cclimit website · cclimit.app
  13. 13.Usagebar website · usagebar.com

About the author

MerdoAI

Maker of Orcylo

Orcylo is a native menu bar system monitor for macOS 15 Sequoia and later. It groups about 700 processes under the 25 or so apps that own them, keeps 30 days of history and shows your Claude Code and Codex limits. The guides cover the same ground: what is slowing a Mac down, what Activity Monitor's figures mean, and how much of an AI coding limit is left.

How these guides are written and checked: our editorial policy. To report a mistake, contact support@orcylo.app.

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