Claude Code status line themes: colour that means something
A themed status line is more than decoration if colour carries meaning. How to pick thresholds, colours and labels that read at a glance, with examples to use.
Most status line themes are about looks: a palette, some separators, maybe icons. That is fine, but the colour on a status line can do a job. If the context bar turns amber at 60 per cent and red at 85, you know to wrap up without reading a number.
Colour with a job
| State | Meaning | Suggested colour |
|---|---|---|
| Below 60% | Carry on | Calm: green, teal or the theme's base |
| 60 to 85% | Plan your next break | Amber |
| Above 85% | Act now | Red |
Use the same thresholds for context and both usage limits, so a colour always means the same thing.
Labels
Short labels (ctx, 5h, wk) fit narrow terminals; long ones (context, 5-hour, weekly) are clearer for the first week. Either way, every value needs a label. A row of bare percentages is a puzzle.
Drawing a bar
A bar reads faster than a number. The neat trick is to write the label inside the bar, dark text on the filled part and light text on the rest, so the bar takes no extra width. It needs 24-bit colour for the text and fill to line up cleanly; see checking 24-bit colour.
Round ends
Capsule-shaped ends use half-circle glyphs that come from Nerd Fonts. Without one, they render as boxes. Either install a Nerd Font or use square ends; see Nerd Fonts for the terminal.
Keep settings apart from the script
Put the theme, labels, thresholds and colours in a small settings file. Then the script can be updated without losing your choices, and changing the look is editing one line.
Capsule Status Line ships three themes, glass, sketch and cyborg, with the label inside each bar and the fill changing colour at 60% and 85%. Every label, colour, threshold and field lives in one settings file that updates never overwrite, and you can change them by asking Claude, for example "switch my status line to the cyborg theme with long labels".
Questions
Can the Claude Code status line use colour?
Yes. The script can print ANSI escape codes, and Claude Code shows them if your terminal supports them. 24-bit colour needs a terminal that supports truecolor.
What thresholds should a usage bar change colour at?
Two changes are enough: a warning and an alarm. Around 60 per cent and 85 per cent work well, because they leave time to act before the limit.
How do I stop a theme update from losing my settings?
Keep your choices in a separate settings file the script reads, rather than editing the script. Updates then replace the script and leave your settings alone.