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.

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.

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.

Docs

Claude Pulse — install, permissions, shortcuts

Everything you need to run Claude Pulse on your MacBook. Works on macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, on any MacBook with a notch.

Install

Download the latest Claude Pulse DMG. The DMG is notarized by Apple; no Gatekeeper workarounds required.
Open the DMG and drag Claude Pulse into Applications.
Launch Claude Pulse from Applications or Spotlight.
On first launch, follow the permission prompts (see Permissions).

Claude Pulse uses Sparkle for updates. Once installed, new versions are verified with an EdDSA signature and delivered automatically — you never need to redownload.

Permissions

Claude Pulse needs two macOS permissions to route Claude Code activity to the notch. Both are granted once, in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Accessibility: Lets Claude Pulse watch focus changes so it knows which Claude Code session is active, and deliver approval keystrokes back to the terminal when you click Approve in the notch.
Automation (Terminal / iTerm / Ghostty): Lets Claude Pulse identify which terminal window a Claude Code session belongs to, so it can bring the right tab forward when you want to jump in.

Claude Pulse never sends session content off your Mac. Approvals and session state stay local. See the privacy policy for details.

Keyboard shortcuts

Claude Pulse is keyboard-native. You never have to touch the trackpad to approve a Claude Code tool call.

Shortcut	Action
⌘ + ↵	Switch between active Claude Code sessions
Y	Approve the current tool call
A	Approve and always allow this tool for the session
N / Esc	Reject the tool call
⌫	Return to the session list from a chat view

Using Claude Pulse

Once Claude Pulse is running, it monitors every Claude Code session on your Mac. When Claude needs an approval — a tool call, a plugin prompt, a decision — it drops into your notch.

Hover the notch to expand it. Click the approval, or use the keyboard shortcuts above.
When multiple sessions are running, the notch shows a session count. Use ⌘ + ↵ to cycle through them.
The notch stays out of your way when nothing needs your attention. No dock icon, no menu bar clutter.

Troubleshooting

Claude Pulse doesn't detect my session.

Confirm Accessibility permission is enabled (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility). After granting it, fully quit and reopen Claude Pulse.

Approvals don't land in the terminal.

This usually means Automation permission hasn't been granted for your terminal app. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation and enable Claude Pulse for Terminal, iTerm, Ghostty, Warp, or whichever terminal you use.

The notch doesn't appear on my Mac.

Claude Pulse renders inside the hardware notch on MacBooks. If you're on an older MacBook without a notch, the app still runs but presents in a floating window near the top of the screen.

Something else.

Email harjas@claudepulse.app with a short description and your macOS version. Solo founder on the other end — you'll get a human reply.

Uninstall

Quit Claude Pulse from the notch menu.
Drag Claude Pulse from Applications to the Trash.
Optional: remove local preferences at ~/Library/Preferences/com.claudepulse.app.plist.

Ready to try Claude Pulse?

Free. Runs entirely on your Mac. macOS 15+.

Download for macOS