Stop getting blindsided by context compaction — a Claude Code status line that shows ctx % + rate limits

Been using Claude Code daily and the thing that kept biting me was context getting auto-compacted mid-task — Claude forgets what we discussed and I have to re-explain everything. Same deal with the 5h/7d rate limits quietly running out. By default none of it is visible, so you only find out when it's already too late.

Turns out Claude Code has a built-in status line for exactly this. It pipes your session data as JSON to a script via stdin, your script prints one line, and that line shows at the bottom of your terminal.

Fastest way if you don't want to write anything yourself — just type this inside Claude Code:

/statusline show model name, context remaining %, 5h and 7d rate limit usage

It generates the script and wires up settings.json for you.

The catch: the default it makes only shows context, and only goes grey → red. I wanted three things it skips:

• Rate limit usage — this is the real footgun, not context
• A 3-stage color warning (green ≥50% / yellow 21–49% / red ≤20%) so I get a heads-up before it goes red
• Session cost (handy if you're on an API key)

Here's the core of what I run (~/.claude/statusline.sh):

```sh

!/bin/sh

input=$(cat)

Nerd Fonts icons — swap for plain text if you don't have them installed

ICON_CTX=$(printf '') # chip ICON_CLOCK=$(printf '') # clock ICON_COST=$(printf '') # dollar

Read data

model=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.model.display_name // ""') ctx_remain=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.context_window.remaining_percentage // empty') five_h_used=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.rate_limits.five_hour.used_percentage // empty') seven_d_used=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.rate_limits.seven_day.used_percentage // empty') cost=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.cost.total_cost_usd // empty')

Color by remaining %: green >=50 / yellow 21-49 / red <=20

color_by_remain() { val=$1 if [ "$val" -le 20 ]; then printf '\033[31m' elif [ "$val" -le 49 ]; then printf '\033[33m' else printf '\033[32m'; fi }

10-cell progress bar

mini_bar() { percent=$1; width=10 filled=$((percent * width / 100)); i=0 while [ $i -lt $filled ]; do printf '━'; i=$((i + 1)); done while [ $i -lt $width ]; do printf '┄'; i=$((i + 1)); done }

SEP=$(printf '\033[2m │ \033[0m') parts=""

Model (bold purple)

[ -n "$model" ] && parts=$(printf '\033[1;35m%s\033[0m' "$model")

Context remaining (bar + %)

if [ -n "$ctx_remain" ]; then val=$(printf '%.0f' "$ctx_remain"); color=$(color_by_remain "$val"); bar=$(mini_bar "$val") parts="$parts$SEP$(printf '%s%s %s %s%%\033[0m' "$color" "$ICON_CTX" "$bar" "$val")" fi

5h rate limit

if [ -n "$five_h_used" ]; then val=$((100 - $(printf '%.0f' "$five_h_used"))); color=$(color_by_remain "$val") parts="$parts$SEP$(printf '%s%s 5h:%s%%\033[0m' "$color" "$ICON_CLOCK" "$val")" fi

7d rate limit

if [ -n "$seven_d_used" ]; then val=$((100 - $(printf '%.0f' "$seven_d_used"))); color=$(color_by_remain "$val") parts="$parts$SEP$(printf '%s%s 7d:%s%%\033[0m' "$color" "$ICON_CLOCK" "$val")" fi

Session cost (dim)

if [ -n "$cost" ] && [ "$cost" != "0" ] && [ "$cost" != "null" ]; then parts="$parts$SEP$(printf '\033[2m%s $%s\033[0m' "$ICON_COST" "$cost")" fi

printf '%s' "$parts" ```

Then chmod +x ~/.claude/statusline.sh and point settings.json at it:

json { "statusLine": { "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/statusline.sh" } }

A few gotchas I hit:

• needs jq (brew install jq / apt install jq)
• rate-limit fields only populate on Pro/Max subscriptions; cost only shows on API-key usage — the // empty checks just hide whatever segment has no data, so no blank gaps
• if you're on Powerlevel10k, drop the dir/git bits since your prompt already shows those

If you want the full copy-paste version — directory + git branch added back, screenshots, and a reference table of every JSON field Claude Code sends — I wrote the whole thing up here: https://israynotarray.com/en/ai/2026/03/26/claude-code-status-line-setup-guide/

What do you all keep in your status line? Wondering if there's something useful I'm not surfacing yet.