[FEATURE]

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

When reading through conversation transcripts in Claude Code, it's difficult to visually distinguish between user messages and assistant responses at a
glance. The current single > character used as the user turn indicator is too subtle — especially in long conversations, the eye has to work harder to
find where each user message starts.

A more prominent indicator (e.g., >>>) with a distinct color (e.g., green) would make it immediately obvious where user input begins, improving
readability and navigation through long sessions.

Proposed Solution

Add a new settings.json option, e.g. userTurnIndicator, that allows
customizing the character(s) and color of the user message prefix in
the transcript view.

Example configuration:
{
"userTurnIndicator": {
"text": ">>>",
"color": "green"
}
}

The interface should render the user turn prefix using the specified
text and ANSI color, making user messages immediately distinguishable
from assistant responses.

Alternative Solutions

Currently there is no workaround — the > indicator is hardcoded in
the UI rendering and cannot be overridden via settings.json or any
other configuration file.

Other terminal-based tools (e.g. custom shells, REPLs) typically allow
prompt/indicator customization via config files. Claude Code already
supports statusLine customization — extending this pattern to the
user turn indicator would be consistent with the existing approach.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

Example scenario:

1. I'm working on a large Django project with Claude Code in VS Code terminal
2. The conversation is long — 50+ exchanges debugging a complex issue
3. I need to scroll back to find where I asked a specific question
4. With the current single > indicator, user messages blend into the

transcript and are hard to spot quickly

1. With >>> in green, I could instantly scan the transcript and jump

to any of my messages, saving time and reducing cognitive load

Additional Context

Claude Code already supports statusLine customization via settings.json,
so the infrastructure for terminal color/text configuration exists.
Extending it with a userTurnIndicator option would be a small,
consistent addition.

Similar customization exists in other REPL tools:

• IPython allows custom In [N]: prompt styling
• zsh/bash allow full PS1 prompt customization with colors

This is a low-effort, high-readability improvement especially valuable
for users who work in long debugging sessions.