Feature Request: Show localized translations alongside spinner/progress words
Feature Request: Display localized translations alongside spinner words
Summary
When Claude Code displays spinner/progress words (e.g., Brewing, Puttering, Fetching),
it would be greatly helpful to show a localized translation in parentheses alongside the English word.
Proposed display example:
⠸ Brewing (양조 중 / 아이디어가 서서히 형성되는 중)
⠸ Fetching (가져오는 중)
⠸ Puttering (탐색 중)
⠸ Discombobulating (당황하는 중 — LLM 대기 중 유머 표현)
Motivation
Claude Code's spinner vocabulary is rich and intentional — approximately 460 words
across three semantic categories:
| Category | Examples | When shown |
|----------|----------|------------|
| Tool execution | Fetching, Grepping, Deploying | During actual tool calls |
| Flavor / waiting | Brewing, Puttering, Noodling | During LLM API wait |
| General progress | Thinking, Analyzing | General status |
For non-native English speakers, especially the whimsical flavor words
(Discombobulating, Flibbertigibbeting, Prestidigitating, Reticulating etc.)
are nearly impossible to understand intuitively.
A localized hint would:
- Make the UI more accessible to international users
- Preserve the charm and wit of the original English words
- Help users understand what Claude is actually doing (tool call vs. LLM waiting)
Proposed Implementation
Option A — settings.json:
{
"spinner": {
"showTranslation": true,
"locale": "ko"
}
}
Option B — locale auto-detection:
Detect system locale and show translation when non-English locale is active.
Option C — custom translation file:
Support ~/.claude/spinner_translations.json for user-defined mappings.
Additional Context
The three-category distinction (tool execution / LLM waiting / general) would be even more valuable if surfaced to users via translation context
This was identified by a non-English-speaking user who extracted and analyzed the full ~460-word spinner vocabulary from the binary
Environment
OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
Shell: Claude Code VS Code Extension
Locale: Korean (ko-KR)