Getting Started
Getting Started
Launch UsageNow, choose your providers, and read your first usage limits.
On this page
This guide walks you through the first run. It takes a couple of minutes. If UsageNow isn’t on your Mac yet, start with Installation.
Before you begin#
UsageNow reads information your AI coding tools already keep, so you need at least one of them:
- Codex, installed and signed in with your ChatGPT account
- Claude Code, installed, signed in, and used at least once on this Mac
First run#
Since 1.0.0, a new installation opens a short optional setup. Choose providers, select Done, or choose Skip Setup. Closing the setup window also skips it. Installed-tool hints check only file metadata; no provider readings start before setup is finished or skipped. Keys and web sessions are connected later through Settings › Providers. Permission for notifications is requested only when you enable notifications.
Existing installations keep their choices and do not automatically reopen setup after an update. Use Settings › General › Open Setup… to revisit it. Once setup is finished or skipped, use the menu bar as described below.
Launch UsageNow#
Open UsageNow. It lives in the menu bar only: there’s no Dock icon and no main window.
Find UsageNow in the menu bar#
Look for the UsageNow symbol on the right side of the menu bar, and click it to open the popover.
If you don’t see it, the menu bar may be full. On a Mac with a camera notch, macOS hides menu bar items that don’t fit, so try quitting a few other menu bar apps.
Open Providers in Settings#
In the popover, click the gear button or press ⌘, to open Settings, then select the Providers tab.
Enable Codex or Claude Code#
Turn on the providers you use. Both are on by default. Turn off any you don’t use — UsageNow then stops reading anything for that provider.
Refresh#
Back in the popover, click the refresh button or press ⌘R. After that, UsageNow refreshes on its own every 5 minutes by default, and whenever you open the popover.
View your limits#
Each provider gets its own section showing its usage windows, when each one resets, and today’s activity on this Mac.
By default, the percentage is what’s left: 58% left means 58% of that usage window remains. You can switch to what's used in Settings › General › Show limits as. Menu Bar explains every part of the popover, including the last 30 days under each provider.
What each provider shows#
What you see depends on what each provider exposes.
| Codex | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Usage limits and reset times | Yes | Only with the experimental setting turned on |
| Plan | Yes | Yes |
| Tokens and requests today | Yes | Yes |
| Most recent model | Yes | Yes |
UsageNow never fabricates values
If a provider doesn’t report a value, UsageNow leaves it out. It never invents a missing usage window or shows a placeholder 0%. When no limits are available, a provider shows Usage limits unavailable, and its local activity can still appear below.
Optional: Claude Code usage limits#
Claude Code doesn’t expose subscription limits through a supported local API, so UsageNow can’t read them by default. There is an experimental, opt-in way to show them: turn on Settings › General › Fetch Claude usage limits. macOS doesn’t ask for permission — turning on the setting is the consent.
Read Claude Code before you turn it on. It explains what the setting does and what UsageNow never does with your credentials.
Next steps#
- Show a percentage next to the menu bar icon: Menu bar display
- Add the desktop widget
- Start UsageNow automatically with Launch at Login