A lightweight pixel-art desktop companion for Windows that reflects your Claude Code activity at a glance. It shows when Claude is working, when your session is idle, and when you approach your usage limits. A single small executable, about 13 MB of memory.
Windows only. Requires Node.js. Running the command again while the pet is open does not start a second instance.
pet_preview.gif
IdleWorkingSleepingScreamRIP
Swipe to view all five moods
01 / Moods
Five states that track Claude Code activity
The pet monitors Claude Code activity and your usage, and updates its appearance so the current status is clear at a glance.
Working
Active session
Claude Code was active within the last 90 seconds.
Idle
Standing by
Claude is open but quiet, or Claude is closed.
Sleeping
Inactive
All Claude windows are minimized, or there has been no activity for 10 minutes.
Scream
Limit warning
Usage has reached 80% of the 5-hour limit.
RIP
Limit reached
Usage has reached 100% of the weekly limit.
02 / Skins
Customizable skins
Select a skin and it applies across every mood.
NoneHeadphonesCrownCat earsBeanie
Right-click the pet → Skin to select one. Your choice is retained between sessions and saved in ~/.claude/pet_settings.json.
pet_skins.gif
Swipe to see every mood
03 / How it works
Usage limit data sources
The Scream and RIP moods depend on your usage data, which the pet obtains in one of two ways. Right-click the pet to view your usage and the active source.
Real limits Recommended
If you use a Claude Code status line, add one line to your status line script immediately after it reads its input. The line saves the 5-hour and weekly percentages that Claude provides to the status line into ~/.claude/pet_limits.json, which the pet reads. Values refresh each time the status line runs (Claude Code in a terminal), and the right-click menu shows source: Claude.
Without that file, the pet totals the tokens in your Claude Code logs over a rolling 5 hours and 7 days and compares them with FIVE_H_LIMIT and WEEK_LIMIT at the top of src/main.rs. Adjust these values to match your plan, then rebuild with cargo build --release.
Activity and windows
The working, idle and sleeping states are derived from recent Claude Code activity and whether Claude windows are open or minimized. The Claude desktop app and the native claude.exe CLI are detected.
04 / Privacy
Local by design. No data transmitted.
No account, no telemetry, no network calls.
Reads local files
Claude Code's logs in ~/.claude/projects and ~/.claude/pet_limits.json.
Writes one file
Only ~/.claude/pet_settings.json, which stores your skin selection.
Sends nothing
No data is sent over the network. The source code is open for inspection.
05 / Usage
Usage, build and limitations
To obtain the newest version, run npx claude-pixel-pet@latest; npx retains the copy it previously downloaded.
Usage
Drag the pet with the left mouse button to reposition it.
Right-click to view your usage and its source, preview any mood, or quit.
Right-click → Skin to select a skin.
Build from source
Install Rust (MSVC with the Windows SDK, or the GNU toolchain). The built pixel_pet.exe is self-contained and can be copied to any location.
Terminal
git clone https://github.com/giannisBFMV/claude-pixel-pet.git
cd claude-pixel-pet
cargo build --release
target\release\pixel_pet.exe
Limitations
Windows only: window detection and the transparent window rely on Windows APIs.
An npm-installed CLI (node.exe) is not detected as an open window.
No automatic start with Windows. Place a shortcut to pixel_pet.exe, or a .cmd file containing npx claude-pixel-pet, in your Startup folder (Win+R → shell:startup).
