Accessibility: Add option to disable time elapsed/progress indicators for screen readers

Problem

When using Claude Code with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, etc.), the time elapsed indicators and progress updates cause significant usability issues:

• Screen readers announce every update (1s... 2s... 3s...)
• This creates a flood of speech output that can hang or overwhelm the screen reader
• Users cannot effectively work with Claude Code while tasks are running
• The constant announcements make it difficult to focus on actual work

Current Workarounds

Users currently must:

• Manually toggle screen reader speech off before starting tasks (NVDA+S)
• Work "blind" while Claude Code executes
• Manually re-enable speech when complete
• This defeats the purpose of using a screen reader

Requested Feature

Add a configuration option to disable or reduce real-time progress indicators, such as:

1. Environment variable: CLAUDE_CODE_QUIET_MODE=1 to suppress time elapsed messages
2. Settings option: "quietMode": true in Claude Code settings
3. Status line control: Option to only show final results, not ongoing progress

Why This Matters

Accessibility is critical for developers who rely on screen readers. Currently, Claude Code's verbose output creates barriers that prevent effective use of the tool. A simple configuration option would make Claude Code fully accessible to blind and visually impaired developers.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Screen Reader: NVDA 2025.x
• PowerShell: 7+
• Terminal: Windows Terminal

Additional Context

The DISABLE_NON_ESSENTIAL_MODEL_CALLS environment variable exists but doesn't appear to affect progress indicators. A dedicated setting for screen reader compatibility would be valuable.

Thank you for considering this accessibility enhancement!