Feature Request: Customizable Spinner Messages

Feature Request: Customizable Spinner Messages

Summary

Allow users to customize the spinner/status words that appear while Claude Code is working (e.g., "Meandering", "Pondering", "Fluttering") via a configuration file.

Motivation

The current 225 spinner words are delightful, but I'd love to personalize this experience. I work at FamilySearch.org and would like to replace the spinner verbs with names of my ancestors. Watching "Great-grandpa William" or "Ancestor Sarah" appear while Claude works would add a meaningful personal touch to my daily workflow.

This small customization would make Claude Code feel more personal and could benefit others who want to:

• Display names of family members, pets, or colleagues
• Use words in their native language
• Add company/team-specific humor
• Create themed experiences (holidays, projects, etc.)

Proposed Implementation

Option A: Configuration file
Add support for ~/.claude/spinners.txt (one word/phrase per line):

Great-grandpa William
Ancestor Sarah
Grandma Rose
Uncle Thomas
...

Option B: Settings array
Add a spinners field to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "spinners": [
    "Great-grandpa William",
    "Ancestor Sarah",
    "Grandma Rose"
  ]
}

Behavior:

• If the custom file/array exists and is non-empty, use it instead of the built-in list
• If empty or missing, fall back to the default 225 words
• Optionally support a spinnerMode: "append" setting to add custom words to the existing list rather than replacing

Additional Context

The spinner words are currently hardcoded in the compiled binary. Making them configurable at runtime via a simple text file would be a low-complexity change with high personalization value.