[FEATURE] Always-visible active provider/account indicator in Claude Code CLI and VS Code Extension, with per-provider color theming

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this specific combination of features hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple unrelated features)

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Problem Statement

When working across multiple projects simultaneously, each project may use a different provider (Anthropic API, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, etc.) or a different account/organization within the same provider. There is currently no persistent, at-a-glance indicator showing which provider and account Claude Code is actively using for the current session.

This creates a real operational risk in professional and enterprise environments:

• A developer switches between project directories and unintentionally continues a session under the wrong provider.
• API calls are billed to the wrong account, violating cost-center boundaries or cloud budget policies.
• In regulated industries (finance, healthcare, etc.), running a task against an unintended provider endpoint can constitute a data governance or compliance violation.
• The error is often not noticed until the billing report or a security audit — at which point it may already be an incident requiring escalation.

This is not a hypothetical concern. In multi-project workflows, switching context quickly is routine. A passive safety net — always-visible provider state — would eliminate this entire class of mistakes.

Relationship to existing status-line issues: Issues #55643, #33819, and #20207 request general statusLine parity between CLI and VS Code. This request is narrower and complementary: it asks specifically for a persistent, non-configurable provider/account display as a safety and governance feature, not a general-purpose customizable status line.

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Proposed Solution

1. CLI (Terminal) — Persistent provider indicator in the status line

Display the active provider name and account/profile identifier permanently in the existing Claude Code status line (bottom bar), alongside the current context window usage.

Proposed format:

[Bedrock / us-east-1 · prod-account]   43% ctx · ↑1.2k ↓340 tokens

• The provider segment should be non-dismissible — it must remain visible even when the user has not configured a custom statusLine command.
• If the user has a custom statusLine, the provider info should be prepended automatically and unconditionally.

2. VS Code Extension — Status bar item

Add a dedicated VS Code status bar item (bottom bar) that permanently displays the active provider and account name for the current Claude Code session.

• Clicking the item opens the provider/account configuration, similar to how the Git branch indicator opens the branch picker.
• The item should be session-scoped: if multiple VS Code windows run separate Claude Code sessions with different providers, each window's status bar should reflect its own session's provider independently.

3. VS Code Extension — Per-provider accent color (optional but high-value)

Allow users to assign a distinct accent color (status bar color, or panel header color) to each provider configuration. This mirrors the existing VS Code Workspace Color Customization pattern:

// .vscode/settings.json (project-level)
"claudeCode.providerColors": {
  "bedrock/prod-account": "#C0392B",   // red  → production
  "bedrock/dev-account": "#27AE60",    // green → development
  "anthropic": "#8E44AD"               // purple → direct API
}

With this in place, developers instantly see — without reading any text — whether they are in a production or development context. This is especially valuable when switching between split-pane terminal sessions or multiple VS Code windows.

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Why This Matters (Priority Justification)

| Risk without this feature | Likelihood | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Incorrect API billing to wrong account | High | Medium–High |
| Compliance/data governance violation | Medium | High |
| Wasted debugging time on wrong-provider responses | High | Low–Medium |

The fix is entirely additive (read-only display), has zero impact on existing functionality, and requires no changes to core execution logic — only the UI layer. The implementation surface is small relative to the value delivered.

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Alternative Solutions Considered

• Custom statusLine command (existing): Requires per-user scripting and is not enforced. Does not solve the "provider is silently wrong" risk because it depends on the user having set it up correctly.
• /status or /config command: Requires active user action. Does not provide passive ambient awareness.
• Shell prompt customization: Outside Claude Code's control; not portable across team members.

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Priority

High — This is a safety and governance feature for professional/enterprise multi-project workflows.

Feature Category

UI / Developer Experience / Enterprise Safety

Use Case Example

A backend engineer has three terminal tabs open:

• Tab A: ~/projects/client-alpha → Bedrock, prod account
• Tab B: ~/projects/client-beta → Vertex AI, staging account
• Tab C: ~/projects/internal-tool → Anthropic API direct

Without a persistent indicator, switching tabs and typing a prompt takes under two seconds — less time than consciously checking which provider is active. With per-provider color coding, the risk of misfiring against production is reduced to near zero.

Additional Context

• Claude Code version: latest (verified with claude --version)
• Platforms affected: macOS, Linux, Windows (CLI); VS Code Extension (all platforms)
• Related issues: #55643 (statusLine VS Code parity), #33819 (token usage in status bar), #20207 (custom statusLine in VS Code)