Keep the typing robot animation + add a startup beep boop sound

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

In the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, there's a small robot animation that appears briefly when I submit a request — he's hunched over his tiny laptop, typing away. He's adorable, and he's the most personality-rich detail in the whole tool. The problem is he disappears after I send my request, even though the actual work is still happening (Claude is reading files, running tools, generating code, etc.). The visual feedback during a long-running task becomes much less engaging the moment he's gone — it's just text scrolling or a generic indicator. I'd like him to stick around in a corner of the tab the entire time Claude Code is working, not just for the first second.

Separately but related: when I open the Code tab to start a new session, there's no moment of greeting from the little guy. He just silently appears and waits. A small "hello" sound from him at the start of a session would make the experience feel warmer and more like sitting down to work alongside a teammate.

Proposed Solution

Two parts:

1. Persistent robot animation throughout active work — keep the typing-robot animation visible (in a corner of the Code tab, or somewhere unobtrusive) for the entire duration that Claude Code is actively processing a request, not just at the start. He'd appear when I submit, stay typing while tools run / files are read / code is generated, and disappear when the response is fully complete and Claude is idle again. Think of him as a "working" indicator with personality — a tiny ambient presence that says "I'm still on it."

1. A little "beep boop" greeting sound at the start of a session — a short (~0.5s) classic sci-fi-style chirp that plays once when the Code tab opens and the robot appears. Not a notification, not a system alert — it's his sound. The robot's way of saying "hi, ready to help." Like the way a Tamagotchi chirps when you open its case, or R2-D2's little burble when he powers on. Configurable in Settings with a single toggle to disable for shared/quiet workspaces.

Alternative Solutions

• The current loading spinner / status indicators do communicate that work is happening, but they're generic and don't carry the warmth the robot does. He's already in the product — just give him more screen time.
• I've considered just watching the streaming output as a proxy for "is he still working," but that's not the same as a clear at-a-glance ambient indicator. Especially during long pauses while a tool runs in the background, it's not always obvious whether things are progressing.
• For the greeting sound, there's no real alternative — the robot currently has no voice, and silently appearing is fine but a missed opportunity for a small moment of joy.

Priority

Low - Nice to have

Feature Category

Other

Use Case Example

I submit a request in the Code tab like "refactor this fee calculation script to handle the rounding edge cases." Claude starts working: reading the file, thinking, calling tools, generating code. Right now the robot appears, then vanishes — even though Claude is going to be working for the next 30–60 seconds. With the proposed change, he'd stay in the corner typing the whole time. I could glance over at any point and see at a glance "yep, still working" — and the wait would feel less like a wait and more like watching a teammate at their desk.

For the greeting sound: I open the Claude desktop app and click into the Code tab to start a session. The little robot pops up in his usual spot and lets out a tiny beep boop — his way of saying hello and that he's ready to help. It sets the tone for the whole session as something warm and a little playful, rather than just "AI tool now loaded." Multiply that small moment of joy across the dozens of times per week I open the Code tab and it adds up to a meaningfully more delightful daily experience.

Additional Context

• Similar in spirit: the way some IDEs keep a small "working" indicator visible during long operations (like JetBrains' background task indicators), or how Discord shows a persistent typing indicator while someone is composing. The pattern of "ambient personality during wait time" is a small but powerful UX touch.
• For the greeting sound, the closest analogues are character sounds rather than system sounds: R2-D2 powering on, a Tamagotchi chirping, the little Duolingo bird's hellos. The point is that it belongs to him, not to the app.
• The robot animation is already designed and built — the request is essentially "keep him on screen longer," which should be a relatively small change to the duration/state logic that controls his visibility.
• Accessibility: the sound part should always be optional and easy to disable. The persistent robot is purely visual and shouldn't impact anyone who has motion-reduction preferences enabled (in which case he could hold a static pose or fade out for those users).
• Not asking for: a more prominent or distracting animation. He should stay small, in a corner, ambient. The whole point is that he's a calming presence, not an attention-grab.

He's the best part. Let him work the whole shift.