🦀 Sidecrab
A desktop pet for Claude Code.
A tiny always-on-top pixel crab that lives on your screen and reacts to what Claude is doing. He sits at his laptop while Claude works, waves you down when a tool needs permission, wanders off when you step away, and naps when things go quiet.
Inspired by the Codex pet in the ChatGPT desktop app and claude-status-bar.
What he does
 |  |  |  |
| idle | working | thinking | permission |
| resting on your desktop | at his laptop, on any tool | pondering something | flagging you down |
...and a handful of other moods and moves he'll show you himself.
Interactions
| Do this | He does |
|---|---|
| Drag him anywhere | settles there and stays put |
| Double-click | focuses the app running your session |
| Right-click | opens settings |
Wander when idle (off by default): after you've been away ~30 seconds he takes little strolls around the screen, then scurries home when you're back.
Hats
Right-click into Hat for a top hat, chef's hat, fedora, or helicopter hat. Whatever he's wearing rides along through every animation.
Requirements
Just Claude Code. No node, no python, nothing else. The activity feed comes from
a small bundled binary that runs off Claude Code's hooks. Verified with the
CLI and the Claude desktop app; any other surface that fires the hooks in
your ~/.claude/settings.json works too.
Install
brew install zvoque/tap/sidecrab
sidecrabHe appears bottom-right and your terminal is free. On first launch he asks before
adding a few hooks to ~/.claude/settings.json so he can tell when Claude is
working. Your file is backed up first, and you can remove them anytime from his
right-click menu.
Everything else lives in that menu: size, position, hats, wander, and Launch
at login. Update with brew upgrade sidecrab.
Coming later
- A downloadable
.dmgfor a no-terminal install - A Windows build
Trademark & IP
This is an unofficial, open-source side project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic. "Claude", "Clawd", and the Clawd crab design are Anthropic's trademarks and intellectual property, referenced here nominatively. The sprite frames derive from Anthropic's Clawd artwork, by way of claude-status-bar.
The MIT license covers the source code only and conveys no rights to Anthropic's trademarks, brand, or artwork (see the scope note in LICENSE).
Violating or impeding your trademark or copyright? Open an issue or reach me on X (@zvoque) and it'll be sorted promptly. Free side project, not monetized.