cctop
A keyboard-first menubar app to monitor and jump between AI coding sessions — minimum setup required.
Works with your existing editor and terminal. No IDE needed, no workflow changes — just install the app, connect your tools, and every session shows up in a floating panel you can navigate with your keyboard.
 |  |
| Tokyo Night (dark) | Claude (light) |
Features
At-a-glance status. A floating menubar panel shows all active sessions with color-coded badges: idle, working, waiting for input, waiting for permission, compacting. See the current prompt or tool in use (e.g. "Editing auth.ts") without switching windows.
Jump directly to any session. Click a session card to raise its VS Code, Cursor, or iTerm2 window — or stay on the keyboard. Arrow keys to browse, Enter to jump, Tab to switch tabs.
Draggable panel. Drag the header to reposition the panel anywhere on screen — position persists across launches. Double-click the header to snap back to the default menubar anchor.
Navigate mode. Hit a global hotkey to overlay numbered badges (1–9) on every session card, then press the number to jump instantly.
Navigate mode — press 1–9 to jump
Recent Projects. A second tab keeps session history so you can reopen past projects easily.
Recent projects tab
Smart status icon. See session health without opening the panel:
- Status bar: A proportional bar next to the icon shows green (working), amber (needs input), red (permission pending), or gray (idle).
- Attention tint: When any session needs your input, the icon shifts to terracotta — visible even in your peripheral vision.
- Notch-aware: On MacBooks where the notch hides the menubar icon, a small status pill appears next to the camera so you always have a signal.
Supported Tools
| Tool | Status | How it connects |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Supported | Shell hooks → cctop-hook CLI |
| opencode | Supported | JS plugin → cctop-hook CLI |
| pi | Supported | TS extension → cctop-hook CLI |
| Codex CLI | Planned | Waiting for plugin/hook API to stabilize |
Themes
Four color schemes inspired by beloved developer tools — each with dark and light variants.
| Claude | Tokyo Night | Gruvbox | Nord |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Switch themes in Settings > Appearance > Color.
Installation
Step 1: Install the app
Homebrew:
brew install --cask st0012/cctop/cctop
Or download the latest release — the app is signed and notarized by Apple.
Step 2: Connect your tools
Follow the app's instructions to connect your tools. The app auto-detects installed tools and offers one-click plugin installation.
Privacy
No network access. No analytics. No telemetry. All data stays on your machine.
cctop stores only:
- Session status (idle / working / waiting)
- Project directory name
- Last activity timestamp
- Current tool or prompt context
This data lives in ~/.cctop/sessions/ as plain JSON files. You can inspect it anytime:
ls ~/.cctop/sessions/
cat ~/.cctop/sessions/*.json | python3 -m json.tool
FAQ
Does cctop slow down my coding tool?
No. The plugin calls a lightweight native binary (cctop-hook) on each event, which writes a small JSON file and returns immediately. There is no measurable impact on performance.