Make thinking status words configurable or more professional
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Feb 11, 2026 by philipp-riedele Closed Feb 15, 2026
Problem
While Claude Code is processing/thinking, random words appear in orange text as status indicators — words like "jitterbugging", "hoolabalooing", "percolating", etc.
These words feel unprofessional and out of place in a serious development tool. When working in a focused, professional environment, seeing playful/silly words breaks concentration and feels incongruent with the tool's purpose.
Suggestion
Either:
- Make the thinking status words configurable — allow users to define their own set of status words (e.g., via
settings.jsonor.claude/config) - Offer a "professional mode" — a setting that replaces playful words with neutral/professional alternatives (e.g., "thinking", "processing", "analyzing")
- Allow disabling them entirely — just show a simple spinner without random words
Why this matters
- Claude Code is used as a professional development tool
- The tone of UI elements should match the professional context
- Users should have control over what their tools display
- Small details like status text contribute to the overall experience
Example config (suggestion)
{
"thinkingStatusStyle": "professional" // "playful" | "professional" | "custom" | "none"
}
Or custom words:
{
"thinkingStatusWords": ["Thinking", "Processing", "Analyzing"]
}This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗