See when Claude Code needs you: agent status in the Mac notch

By MacStick · Updated 2026-11-15 · 2 min read

AI workflow illustration; example interface

The problem with long agent runs

A coding agent can work for twenty minutes and then stop on a single question. If you have switched to another window, you find out late. Terminal bells and notifications help, but they are easy to miss and they do not tell you which of several sessions stopped.

What an at-a-glance status needs

Three states cover most of it: working, finished and waiting for instructions, and blocked on a direct question. The third matters most, because the session cannot continue without you. A good indicator also names the session and the project, so you know where to go.

How MacStick reads it

Claude Code writes a small status file for every running session and appends to a local transcript. MacStick reads only those status files and the last part of each transcript, every twenty seconds. Codex sessions are read from their local rollout logs in the same way. Nothing is uploaded, and no API key is involved.

What you see

When the island is collapsed, an amber dot and a short line such as “Agent needs you” appear as soon as a turn ends. Expanded, the Agents tile lists each session with its state and the first line of the last message or the pending question, most urgent first.

Limits worth knowing

MacStick shows status; it does not answer the agent for you or approve tool permissions from the island. A session that is waiting on a permission prompt inside a tool call can still read as working. Sessions on another machine are not visible.

Pair it with usage and budget

The same local logs give token counts and an estimated cost. MacStick totals them for the day and the month, shows the pace against a monthly budget you set, and counts down to the Codex rate-limit reset.

See the idea in action.

The browser preview uses sample data and does not access your Mac.

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