Desktop app: compact context indicator silently changed meaning — now tracks plan usage, not context window
Documentation Type
Missing documentation (feature not documented)
Documentation Location
_No response_
Section/Topic
compact context indicator
Current Documentation
_No response_
What's Wrong or Missing?
Environment
- Platform: Windows 11 Pro (desktop app)
- CLI core: 2.1.72 (
claude --version); desktop app build: <fill from app About screen> - Plan: Max (20x)
Summary
The small circular gauge at the bottom-right of the chat input (next to the model/plan
chip) previously visualized context-window fill %. It now appears to visualize a
plan usage-limit % instead (matching "Weekly · <model>" in the expanded panel).
The change is not mentioned in the changelog, and no setting toggles which metric the
compact indicator shows.
Observed
Same session, two data points:
- Expanded panel read Context window: 806.8k / 1M (81%) — the circular icon showed
~44–50% filled, matching Weekly · Fable: 44%, not the 81% context figure.
- After a manual transcript compaction, the panel read 160.6k / 1M (16%) — the
icon was unchanged (still ~44%). Weekly usage of course doesn't decrease, which
is consistent with the icon now tracking usage rather than context.
In earlier builds, the same icon visibly shrank when context was reduced by manual
compaction — that at-a-glance signal is what regressed/changed.
Expected
Either of:
- the compact indicator reflects context-window fill (previous behavior), or
- a documented setting chooses which metric it shows, or
- at minimum, the behavior change is documented in the changelog.
Impact
Workflows that manage context manually (compacting deliberately rather than relying
on auto-compact) lose the only always-visible context signal. In this instance the icon
reading "~under 50%" while actual context was at 81% nearly caused a missed manual
compaction — the mismatch was only caught by opening the expanded panel. A gauge whose
meaning changes silently while its appearance stays identical is worse than no gauge:
operators calibrated to the old meaning read it with confidence.
I understand usage limits may be the more relevant metric for users who rely on
auto-compact — but a toggle (or a documented statusline-style option for the desktop
app) would serve both audiences. Related: #28962 (context-window visibility).
Notes
- The circular indicator itself appears to be undocumented; the statusline docs expose
both context_window.used_percentage and rate_limits.*.used_percentage
programmatically, but the desktop app's built-in indicator has no documented contract.
Suggested Improvement
Either of:
- the compact indicator reflects context-window fill (previous behavior), or
- a documented setting chooses which metric it shows, or
- at minimum, the behavior change is documented in the changelog.
Impact
Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand
Additional Context
_No response_
Showing cached comments. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗
3 Comments
I was also surprised by that behavior change. I saw a red circle and executed /compact - which for obvious reasons did not change the circle.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯In my opinion, the global usage window might be relevant (i personally check it pretty often) but it does not belong here. In that whole area there is only session specific information (mode, model selection, effort). Showing the global usage window here feels out of place.
+1. The current chat's context window is the metric I really need to keep an eye on. That's the old behavior I'd rather have.
Right now, it's showing my consumption against the 5-hour limit. I only want to check that occasionally, so it should be kept in the popup window.
Seriously, this needs to be a toggle or an option between the 3 if you want. Weekly, 5 hour or Current. This was a bigger disruption...please fix.