[Feature Request] Context usage indicator for Claude Desktop

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Claude Desktop provides no visibility into context window usage until auto-compaction occurs, typically around 95% capacity. This causes:

• Unexpected mid-task compaction losing conversation context
• Inability to plan work around context limits
• No way to determine when to start new conversations vs continue
• Particularly problematic for multi-file operations and complex debugging sessions

Proposed Solution

Add a persistent, visible context usage indicator in Claude Desktop UI showing:

• Current context usage percentage (e.g., "72% context used")
• Or remaining tokens (e.g., "56k tokens remaining")

Similar to how claude.ai web interface shows usage warnings, but visible continuously rather than only at critical threshold.

Alternative Solutions

• Third-party tools like ccusage don't read Desktop session data
• Claude Code CLI has /context command and statusline - Desktop needs equivalent
• Browser extensions only work for claude.ai web, not Desktop app

Related Issues
Claude Code CLI has multiple requests for this (#5547, #5720, #5739, #15247). Desktop users need the same visibility.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Interactive mode (TUI)

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

_No response_