Feature Request: Context data access in statusline hooks

Problem

Currently, the statusline configuration in Claude Code runs as an external bash script that cannot access Claude Code's internal context state. This means users cannot display real-time context usage information (token count, memory breakdown, context percentage) in their status lines.

Current Situation

The built-in /context command provides comprehensive context information
External statusline scripts have no way to access this same data
Users must manually run /context to monitor session state

Requested Feature

Add built-in support for exposing context data to statusline hooks, enabling:

Real-time token usage - Show current/max tokens (e.g., "33k/200k tokens")
Context percentage - Visual progress indicator (e.g., "17%")
Memory breakdown - Show system/tools/memory allocation
Context progress bar - Visual representation similar to /context command

Proposed Implementation

Option 1: Environment Variables
Expose context data via environment variables when running statusline commands:

CLAUDE_CONTEXT_TOKENS=33000
CLAUDE_CONTEXT_MAX=200000  
CLAUDE_CONTEXT_PERCENT=17
CLAUDE_MEMORY_TOKENS=7000

Option 2: JSON Input Extension
Extend the existing JSON input to statusline scripts with context data:

{
  "workspace": {...},
  "model": {...},
  "context": {
    "tokens_used": 33000,
    "tokens_max": 200000,
    "percentage": 17,
    "breakdown": {
      "system": 3000,
      "tools": 11900,
      "memory": 7000,
      "messages": 3600
    }
  }
}

Use Cases

Developers want to monitor context usage without interrupting their workflow
Power users need proactive context management to avoid hitting limits
Teams want consistent context awareness across development sessions
CI/CD integrations need programmatic access to context state

Technical Analysis

This issue was identified while implementing a Claude Code development environment. We attempted several approaches:

❌ Transcript file parsing - unreliable due to format variations
❌ External command invocation - /context is session-internal only
❌ Environment variable detection - Claude Code doesn't currently expose these
✅ Feature request - requires official Anthropic support

Related Issues

This relates to the broader theme of programmatic access to Claude Code session state for automation and monitoring purposes.

Priority

High - This is essential for effective context management in long-running development sessions.

Found 2 possible duplicate issues:

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

This is a fantastic idea! I was just trying to build a more informative status line myself and ran into the exact same limitation.

You've nailed the problem description. We have this great /context command that shows everything we need, but no way to get that data into the status line where it would be most useful for at-a-glance monitoring.

I just checked the official statusline docs and the changelog to confirm. You're right, the current JSON input for the status line script includes cost, model, workspace, etc., but nothing about the context usage. It looks like they just added the cost object in v1.0.85 (according to the changelog), so your idea of adding a context object feels like a perfect next step.

I definitely prefer your Option 2 (JSON Input Extension). It's much cleaner and more scalable. Having a dedicated context object in the JSON payload would be way easier to parse in a script (whether it's bash, Python, or Node) than trying to juggle a bunch of new environment variables.

Your proposed context object looks perfect:

"context": {
  "tokens_used": 33000,
  "tokens_max": 200000,
  "percentage": 17,
  "breakdown": { ... }
}

Having the raw numbers and the pre-calculated percentage would be super useful for building different kinds of displays.

It's funny, the /context command itself isn't even in the main slash command docs yet (I saw another issue tracking that). Seems like a few of these newer, more powerful features are still waiting to be fully documented.

For now, I guess the best we can do is use the cost.total_cost_usd field from the existing JSON input as a very rough proxy for token usage, but it's obviously not ideal.

Great suggestion, giving this a 👍. Fingers crossed the team sees this and can get it into a future release.

Here's an idea: Use the hooks interface to run /context after every prompt and then use the data to populate a custom status line

This is a fantastic idea! I was just trying to build a more informative status line myself and ran into the exact same limitation.

You've nailed the problem description. We have this great /context command that shows everything we need, but no way to get that data into the status line where it would be most useful for at-a-glance monitoring.

I just checked the official statusline docs and the changelog to confirm. You're right, the current JSON input for the status line script includes cost, model, workspace, etc., but nothing about the context usage. It looks like they just added the cost object in v1.0.85 (according to the changelog), so your idea of adding a context object feels like a perfect next step.

I definitely prefer your Option 2 (JSON Input Extension). It's much cleaner and more scalable. Having a dedicated context object in the JSON payload would be way easier to parse in a script (whether it's bash, Python, or Node) than trying to juggle a bunch of new environment variables.

Your proposed context object looks perfect:
"context": {
  "tokens_used": 33000,
  "tokens_max": 200000,
  "percentage": 17,
  "breakdown": { ... }
}
Having the raw numbers and the pre-calculated percentage would be super useful for building different kinds of displays.

It's funny, the /context command itself isn't even in the main slash command docs yet (I saw another issue tracking that). Seems like a few of these newer, more powerful features are still waiting to be fully documented.

For now, I guess the best we can do is use the cost.total_cost_usd field from the existing JSON input as a very rough proxy for token usage, but it's obviously not ideal.

Great suggestion, giving this a 👍. Fingers crossed the team sees this and can get it into a future release.

Yes definitely.
I prefer option 2 too.

Token usage is important to know as a codebase keeps growing and adding features. There are aspects of the codebase which become centric or more like anchors for any feature being built.
Having the context on the status like and then being able to do hooks and other strategies to further automate so we give Claude optimised context to implement Todo tasks.

Ideally when we have 1m context sonnet model these issues wouldn't be much persistent.

Here's an idea: Use the hooks interface to run /context after every prompt and then use the data to populate a custom status line

Good workaround haha.

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Feature Request: Context data access in statusline hooks #6577

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Feature Request: Context data access in statusline hooks #6577

Description

Problem

Current Situation

Requested Feature

Proposed Implementation

Use Cases

Technical Analysis

Related Issues

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github-actions commented on Aug 26, 2025

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