Statusline

Claude Code's statusline is displayed at the bottom of the terminal, providing real-time status information for the current session and quick operation hints.

Statusline Layout

[Mode] [Model] [Cost] [Shortcut Hints]

Example

⏸ plan mode on | claude-sonnet-4-6 | $0.05 | Shift+Tab: Switch mode

Permission Mode Indicators

The left side of the statusline shows the current permission mode:

Normal Mode (Default)

[No special indicator]

• Each operation requires confirmation
• Default mode, most secure
• Suitable for important operations and uncertain tasks

Auto-Accept Mode

⏵⏵ accept edits on

• Automatically accepts all edit operations
• Press Shift+Tab once to enter
• Suitable for quick iteration and trusted tasks
• Still asks for dangerous operations (e.g., delete files, git push)

Plan Mode

⏸ plan mode on

• Read-only mode, Claude only creates plans without executing
• Press Shift+Tab twice to enter
• Suitable for complex tasks, review plan before executing
• Safely explore large refactoring or uncertain tasks

Mode Switching

Shift+Tab Shortcut

Press Shift+Tab to cycle through three permission modes:

Normal Mode → Auto-Accept Mode → Plan Mode → Normal Mode

Use cases:

1. Normal → Auto-Accept: Quick development without confirming each time
2. Auto-Accept → Plan: Pause execution, view plan first
3. Plan → Normal: Review complete, start executing

Command Line Startup

# Start with Auto-Accept mode
claude --permission-mode auto

# Start with Normal mode (default)
claude --permission-mode ask

# Start with custom mode
claude --permission-mode custom

Model Information

The middle of the statusline shows the current model in use:

Model Identifiers

claude-opus-4-6      # Opus 4.6 - Most powerful
claude-sonnet-4-6    # Sonnet 4.6 - Default, balanced
claude-haiku-4-5-20251001  # Haiku 4.5 - Fastest

Switching Models

Use the /model command to switch:

/model opus    # Switch to Opus 4.6
/model sonnet  # Switch to Sonnet 4.6
/model haiku   # Switch to Haiku 4.5

Fast Mode

/fast          # Uses the same Opus 4.6 but with faster output

Note: /fast does not switch to a different model, it uses the same Opus 4.6 model but with faster output.

Cost Display

The statusline shows the current session's API usage cost:

$0.05          # Current session total cost

View Detailed Cost

Use the /cost command to view detailed information:

/cost

Displays:

• Input tokens
• Output tokens
• Cache hit information
• Total cost (USD)

Shortcut Hints

The right side of the statusline shows common shortcuts:

Shift+Tab: Switch mode

Other Shortcuts

Although not displayed in the statusline, these shortcuts are also useful:

• Ctrl+C - Interrupt current operation
• Ctrl+D - Exit Claude Code
• ↑/↓ - Browse command history

Configuring the Statusline

Custom Display

Configure in .claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusline": {
    "enabled": true,
    "showModel": true,
    "showCost": true,
    "showMode": true,
    "position": "bottom",
    "format": "[{mode}] {model} | ${cost} | {hints}"
  }
}

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true	Whether to show statusline
showModel	boolean	true	Show model info
showCost	boolean	true	Show cost info
showMode	boolean	true	Show permission mode
position	string	bottom	Position (top/bottom)
format	string	Custom	Custom format

Format Variables

Available format variables:

• {mode} - Permission mode indicator
• {model} - Current model
• {cost} - Current cost
• {hints} - Shortcut hints
• {tokens} - Token usage
• {time} - Session duration

Example Configurations

Minimal statusline:

{
  "statusline": {
    "format": "{mode} | {model}"
  }
}

Detailed statusline:

{
  "statusline": {
    "format": "[{mode}] {model} | ${cost} | {tokens} tokens | {time} | {hints}"
  }
}

Statusline Colors

Theme Configuration

{
  "statusline": {
    "theme": {
      "normalMode": "green",
      "autoAcceptMode": "yellow",
      "planMode": "blue",
      "background": "black",
      "foreground": "white"
    }
  }
}

Available Colors

• black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white
• Or use RGB values: "#00ff00"

Practical Tips

1. Quick Switch to Auto-Accept

Suitable for quick iteration:

Press Shift+Tab once → Bottom shows ⏵⏵ accept edits on

2. Use Plan Mode for Complex Tasks

Suitable for large refactoring:

Press Shift+Tab twice → Bottom shows ⏸ plan mode on
Claude creates detailed plan but doesn't execute
Review plan, then press Shift+Tab to return to Normal Mode to execute

3. Monitor Cost

Check API usage at any time:

Statusline shows real-time cost
Use /cost to view detailed information

4. Quick Model Switching

Choose model based on task complexity:

/model haiku   # Simple tasks, fast response
/model sonnet  # Balanced tasks, default choice
/model opus    # Complex tasks, most powerful

5. Use Fast Mode

When you need fast output:

/fast          # Uses the same Opus 4.6 but with faster output

Troubleshooting

Statusline Not Displaying

Check configuration:

# View configuration
cat ~/.config/claude/config.json

# Ensure statusline.enabled is true

Statusline Display Errors

Reset configuration:

# Delete configuration file
rm ~/.config/claude/config.json

# Restart Claude Code
claude

Color Display Issues

Check terminal support:

# Check terminal color support
echo $TERM

# Should display xterm-256color or similar

Best Practices

1. Watch the mode indicator - Always be aware of which permission mode you're in
2. Monitor costs - Regularly check costs to avoid unexpected overcharges
3. Use Auto-Accept wisely - Only use for trusted tasks
4. Leverage Plan Mode - Create plans first for complex tasks
5. Choose the right model - Select model based on task complexity

Related Commands

• /help - View help
• /model - Switch model
• /cost - View cost
• /fast - Fast mode
• /clear - Clear history
• /quit - Exit

References

• CLI Reference - Complete CLI command reference
• Configuration Reference - Detailed configuration options
• CLI Reference - Common commands and shortcuts