Dev builds Windows Dynamic Island to track Claude Code usage, open sourced
Available_Recover601 · reddit · 2026-10-17
A developer, tired of guessing how much of Claude Code's 5-hour window remained, built Developer Island — an open-source native capsule at the top of Windows showing live usage like "Claude 1.12M · 72%".
Features
- Reads 5-hour and weekly plan usage with reset times directly from the status line command (not token estimates)
- Per-day token breakdown (input/cache write/output/cache read), a 26-week usage graph with API-price equivalent, plus Codex support
- Awake mode keeps Claude Code running with the lid closed or PC locked, restoring original power settings afterwards — even after a crash
How Claude Code helped
- Started with a detailed brief (states, modules, privacy rules, design priorities); first version in 3 days
- Iterated with numbered lists of 20-30 pain points per round, each fix backed by a regression test; key rule: "additive changes by default, destructive only on explicit ask"
- 380+ tests on UI-free logic; a snapshot mode renders every state offscreen to PNGs so Claude self-checks UI changes
MIT licensed, no telemetry, never reads prompts or code. Windows 10/11 x64, demo mode included.
Related event: Developer Builds Open-Source Windows Widget to Track Claude Code Usage(2 posts)→
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