### Preflight Checklist - [x] I have searched [existing requests](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20label%3Aenhancement) and this feature hasn't been requested yet - [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features) ### Problem Statement I'm trying to make the status message of Claude be more consistent and professional. The playful nature of the terminology makes it feel like a video game than a tool that's used for professional developers. Instead of

[FEATURE] - Add a way to override the status message to be more consistent and professional

Status Fixed / completed

Maintainer reply None cached

Activity 11 comments · opened Jan 26, 2026 · closed Mar 16, 2026

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

I'm trying to make the status message of Claude be more consistent and professional. The playful nature of the terminology makes it feel like a video game than a tool that's used for professional developers. Instead of "cogitating, thinking deeply, etc" just have it state something simple like "processing" so you know it's always doing the same thing.

Proposed Solution

Allow for an override for this status message. Either select a specific status message group, such as professional or allow for overrides.

{
"messageStyle": "professional"
}

Or allow custom terminology:
{
"statusMessages": {
"thinking": "Processing...",
"complete": "Done (${duration})"
}
}

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

API and model interactions

Use Case Example

I'm trying to work with other professional devs and show them the power of Claude without it being goofy or conversational. The goal is to allow professionals to use this as a tool and it supports them in this context without being distracting.

Additional Context

_No response_

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11 Comments

gilad-cohen · 6 months ago

I'd really appreciate this as well

philipp-riedele · 6 months ago

I really hope they change this

jmadren · 5 months ago

I don't know if this is something that's been added, or if it was available all along, but Gemini guided me in adding the following to ~/.claude/settings.json:

  "spinnerVerbs": {
    "mode": "replace",  
      "verbs": ["Working..."]   
  }

It does exactly as OP proposed for the processing messages, but I didn't look into the completion message.

IdoZilberberg · 5 months ago

Would really appreciate having the option to remove this, it is constantly grabbing my attention, as if it completed its task.

SmartLamScott · 5 months ago

I don't know if this is something that's been added, or if it was available all along, but Gemini guided me in adding the following to ~/.claude/settings.json: `` "spinnerVerbs": { "mode": "replace", "verbs": ["Working..."] } `` It does exactly as OP proposed for the processing messages, but I didn't look into the completion message.

@jmadren have you tried this with the Claude Code extension for VSCode? It seems to recognize the settings and provides autocomplete values for the parameters and the mode value, but I can't get the new verbs to appear. I've tried editing both my user settings and workspace settings.

jmadren · 5 months ago

@SmartLamScott

have you tried this with the Claude Code extension for VSCode? It seems to recognize the settings and provides autocomplete values for the parameters and the mode value, but I can't get the new verbs to appear. I've tried editing both my user settings and workspace settings.

I use Antigravity, but haven't used the Claude Code extension within it in a while. Just tried and this change didn't affect it. But I found a separate settings file at ~/Library/Application Support/Antigravity/User/settings.json and added the following:

    "claudeCode.spinnerVerbs": {
      "mode": "replace",  
      "verbs": ["Working..."]   
    },

After relaunching Antigravity, the Claude Code Console/Extension within it now adheres to this behavior. I'm guessing there's a similar settings file for VSCode, since Antigravity is based on it.

SmartLamScott · 5 months ago

@SmartLamScott > have you tried this with the Claude Code extension for VSCode? It seems to recognize the settings and provides autocomplete values for the parameters and the mode value, but I can't get the new verbs to appear. I've tried editing both my user settings and workspace settings. I use Antigravity, but haven't used the Claude Code extension within it in a while. Just tried and this change didn't affect it. But I found a separate settings file at ~/Library/Application Support/Antigravity/User/settings.json and added the following: `` "claudeCode.spinnerVerbs": { "mode": "replace", "verbs": ["Working..."] }, `` After relaunching Antigravity, the Claude Code Console/Extension within it now adheres to this behavior. I'm guessing there's a similar settings file for VSCode, since Antigravity is based on it.

This works for me. I found it yesterday on one of the dozens of posts about this same topic. I really wish Anthropic would make these spinner changes more apparent. The messages are a point of annoyance for a lot of users.

Polymistis · 5 months ago

"spinnerVerbs": {
"mode": "replace",
"verbs": ["Working.]
},

This seemed to work, the ellipsis were unnecessary as it adds to that automatically. Thanks for sharing! I quite appreciate it being static terminology. Claude Code seems to have a hard time understanding what settings it can change to update itself.

fcgh · 5 months ago

It's unclear to me rom the conversation whether spinnerVerbs was found to work with Claude in VS Code extension. Had anyone success with it? I'm on Windows, with VS Code 1.111.0 and unclear which file should be updated. It seems the claude.json file in c:\users\... is being overwritten automatically somehow.

kotpal · 5 months ago

No. spinnerVerbs setting is not removing these useless words from being displayed. Even Claude Code says the following about these settings:

Those settings were likely made up.

Go figure! These words are really annoying and constantly keeps taking mental focus. Whatever happened to listening to user feedback and remove them or at least provide an option / setting.

github-actions[bot] · 5 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.