What is Claude Pulse?

Claude Pulse is a free macOS app that lives in your MacBook notch. It monitors every Claude Code session running on your Mac and lets you approve tool calls, handle permission prompts, and track usage in two seconds — without switching away from what you're doing.

Is Claude Pulse free?

Yes, completely free. No subscription, no trial, no account. Download the DMG, drag to Applications, launch.

Which terminals does Claude Pulse support?

Ghostty, iTerm2, Terminal.app, WezTerm, Kitty, Warp, Alacritty, Hyper, and Tabby. tmux is supported directly — approvals are routed to the right pane by PID or working directory.

What macOS version do I need?

macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, on a MacBook with a notch (2021 MacBook Pro or newer). Apple Silicon required.

Does Claude Pulse send my session data to the cloud?

No. Claude Pulse runs entirely on your local machine. Session data, tool approval history, and configuration never leave your device. Plan usage data is read from the Claude CLI's existing Keychain credentials — Claude Pulse is a read-only consumer; it doesn't talk to Anthropic itself.

Does Claude Pulse work with Docker, Lima, or remote containers?

No. The Claude Code hook socket lives on the host filesystem and isn't reachable from inside a container namespace, so Claude Code sessions launched inside Docker, Lima, distrobox, or similar will not appear in Claude Pulse. Native host sessions and tmux are fully supported.

How do I install Claude Pulse?

Download the notarized DMG from claudepulse.app/download, drag Claude Pulse to Applications, and launch it. On first run, grant Accessibility and Automation permissions in System Settings. Setup takes about 30 seconds.

Alternatives

Claude Code notch apps for macOS — compared

Q: How is Claude Pulse different from other Claude Code notch apps?

Three things. Safety-aware batch approval: rm -rf, DROP TABLE, and force-push always require manual confirmation even in batch mode. Focus-aware expansion: identity is captured at the hook source inside the terminal tab, so the notch bounces instead of expanding when you're already looking at the session. And live Anthropic usage with no second login — Claude Pulse reads the Claude CLI's existing Keychain credentials.

Every notable Claude Code notch and menu-bar app for macOS, side by side. Honest about what each one does well, and where we've had to mark a capability as not publicly verified.

Last updated: May 2026. Spotted something we got wrong? Email harjas@claudepulse.app.

App	Surface	Price	Safety-aware batch approve	Multi-session	Live Anthropic usage	tmux support	No second login
Claude Pulse	Notch	Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Notchi	Notch	Free / Paid	?	✓	?	?	?
Vibe Island	Notch	$20	?	✓	?	?	?
Claude Island / Vibe Notch	Notch	Free	?	✓	?	?	?
Notch Pilot	Notch	Free	?	✓	?	?	?
AgentNotch	Menu bar + notch	Free	?	✓	?	?	?
c9watch / Claude Status	Menu bar	Free	✗	✓	✓	?	✓

✓ confirmed · ✗ not present · ? not publicly verified. We mark a capability as not verified rather than guess from a screenshot.

Claude Pulse

Notch · Free · Closed source

Reads the Claude CLI's existing Keychain credentials for live 5-hour and weekly usage — no second OAuth. Focus-aware: identity captured at the hook source inside the terminal tab so the notch bounces when you're already looking at the session. Safety-aware batch approval excludes rm -rf, DROP TABLE, and force-push automatically. Supports Ghostty, iTerm2, Terminal.app, WezTerm, Kitty, Warp, Alacritty, Hyper, Tabby, and tmux.

Notchi

Notch · Free / Paid · Closed source

Registers shell-script hooks with Claude Code (and Codex) on launch. Reacts to activity in real time. Approval routing surface area beyond the notch is unclear from public docs.

Vibe Island

Notch · $20 · Closed source

Notch-based control panel for Claude Code: see every session, approve permission requests, jump to the right terminal. Paid app. No public statement on whether batch approve excludes dangerous commands.

Claude Island / Vibe Notch

Notch · Free · Open source

Minimal, always-present session manager. Focused on context-switch-free notifications. Single-session emphasis with growing multi-session support.

Notch Pilot

Notch · Free · Open source

Live companion for Claude Code in the notch. Reacts to what Claude is doing, intercepts permission prompts, shows running sessions at a glance.

AgentNotch

Menu bar + notch · Free · Open source

Watches Claude Code and Codex think, read files, and execute tools. Menu-bar surface area with notch presence. No claims about safety-aware batch approval.

c9watch / Claude Status

Menu bar · Free · Open source

Native macOS menu-bar app with WidgetKit widgets. Discovers sessions at the OS process level — no hooks or setup. Approval handling is via per-session jump rather than in-place click.

Which Claude Code notch app should you pick?

Most of these apps look similar at first glance — a small panel hanging off the notch, a session list, an approve button. The interesting differences are below the surface.

If you care about safety: ask whether the app's batch approval excludes destructive commands. Approving every queued tool call with one keystroke is convenient — until one of those calls is rm -rf, DROP TABLE, or a force-push. Claude Pulse holds those back automatically.

If you run many sessions: focus-awareness matters more than session-list ergonomics. When a session you're already looking at needs approval, the notch should not steal your attention. Most apps expand unconditionally.

If you care about your usage limits: check whether the app shows live 5-hour and weekly usage from Anthropic — and whether it makes you log in a second time to do so. The Claude CLI already has your tokens in the macOS Keychain; a well-behaved notch app reads them instead of asking again.

If you use tmux: approval routing into the right pane requires identifying sessions by PID or working directory. Few of these apps do this explicitly.

Ready to try Claude Pulse?

Free. Native macOS. macOS 15+. No account.

Download for macOS

Or read why we built it differently — the design story.