Dev open-sources Lockpaw: locked Mac glows when Claude Code needs you
inspectorjawa · reddit · 2026-09-06
A developer built Lockpaw, an open-source macOS menu bar app (MIT, native Swift, 10 MB, no analytics), to solve the annoyance of repeatedly walking back to check whether Claude Code needs permission.
- Core feature: one hotkey covers the screen without sleeping the Mac, so the agent keeps running; when Claude Code hits a permission prompt or finishes, the covered screen glows—visible from the kitchen. Silent by default (open-office friendly), Touch ID to unlock.
- Integration: a single command writes Notification and Stop hooks into /.claude/settings. that run lockpaw ping; the app listens on a distributed notification (never auto-launches) and backs up settings first. Works with Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Copilot CLI, and Aider too.
- Build process: most of the app was written in Claude Code sessions, tackling the CGEventTap on a background thread (Carbon hotkeys are unreliable in menu-bar apps), Sparkle codesigning order, and a Cmd+Q leak during the Touch ID sheet caused by macOS secure input. A CLAUDE.md in the repo carries these decisions across sessions.
- A community PR fades the screen to pure black after a few minutes to protect OLED panels.
Related event: Lockpaw: Open-Source Mac App Makes Screen Glow When Claude Code Needs You(2 posts)→
More from coding & agent
- Dev demos AI models handling 3D objects and animations surprisingly well — chongdashu · 2026-10-23
- Jason Kneen burns 104.56B tokens and $24.7K in 304 days of AI coding on Codex and Claude Code — jasonkneen · 2026-10-23
- Typosquatted Blender MCP Repo Hit 958 Stars in Days and Silently Ran Malware — Promptmethus · 2026-10-23
- Benchmarking 56 fresh dependency bugs: MCP routing lifts Claude Code accuracy 68% to 91% — Available_Side_7134 · 2026-10-23
- Swapping only the eval harness moves results 30%: designing agent evals like a scientist — AI Engineer · 2026-10-23
- Med student builds a whole-library RAG with Cognee; single-book ingestion still freezes his machine — shrike293103 · 2026-10-23