Howl Configure

Help the user choose a display preset for their Howl statusline HUD.

Available Presets

Preset	Lines	Best For	Displays
full	2-4	Complete visibility	All 13 metrics (default)
minimal	1	Clean workspace	Model + Context + Cost + Duration
developer	2	Coding focus	+ Account + Git + Changes + Speed + Cache + Vim
cost-focused	2	Budget tracking	+ Quota + API Wait + Cost Velocity

Process

1. Use the AskUserQuestion tool to present preset choices as an interactive UI:

   • Question: "Which Howl statusline preset would you like to use?"
   • Header: "Display Preset"
   • Options (4):
     • Label: "full (default)" | Description: "Complete visibility - All 13 metrics (2-4 lines)"
     • Label: "minimal" | Description: "Clean workspace - Model + Context + Cost + Duration only (1 line)"
     • Label: "developer" | Description: "Coding focus - Add Account, Git, Changes, Speed, Cache, Vim (2 lines)"
     • Label: "cost-focused" | Description: "Budget tracking - Add Quota, API Wait, Cost Velocity (2 lines)"

2. Show a preview of their chosen preset:

   minimal:

   [Sonnet 4.5] | ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21% (210K/1M) | $32.7 | 2h46m
   

   developer:

   [Sonnet 4.5] | ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21% (210K/1M) | $32.7 | 2h46m
   user@example.com | main* | +2.7K/-120 | 50tok/s | Cache:96% | I
   

   cost-focused:

   [Sonnet 4.5] | ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21% (210K/1M) | $32.7 | 2h46m
   $0.19/m | Wait:41% | (2h)5h: 55%/42% :7d(3d6h)
   

   full:

   [Sonnet 4.5] | ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21% (210K/1M) | $32.7 | 2h46m
   user@example.com | main* | +2.7K/-120 | 50tok/s | (2h)5h: 55%/42% :7d(3d6h)
   Read(9) Bash(8) TaskCreate(4) | ▶researcher,tester
   Cache:96% | Wait:41% | Cost:$0.19/m | I | @code-wri
   

3. Apply the configuration:

   mkdir -p ~/.claude/hud
   cat > ~/.claude/hud/config.json << 'EOF'
   {
     "preset": "CHOSEN_PRESET"
   }
   EOF
   

4. Confirm the change: "✅ Preset set to CHOSEN_PRESET. Changes will appear in the next statusline refresh (~300ms)."

Reset to Default

To reset to full (default):

rm ~/.claude/hud/config.json

Or set explicitly:

echo '{"preset":"full"}' > ~/.claude/hud/config.json

Current Configuration

To see your current preset:

cat ~/.claude/hud/config.json

If the file doesn't exist, you're using full (default).

Important Notes

Danger Mode Override

When context usage reaches the danger threshold (default 85%), Howl automatically switches to full information mode regardless of your chosen preset. This ensures you have complete visibility during critical situations when you're approaching context limits.

This behavior cannot be disabled - it's a safety feature. The trigger point can be adjusted via /howl:threshold or the context_danger field in ~/.claude/hud/config.json.

What Gets Hidden in Each Preset

• minimal: Hides account, git, line changes, response speed, quota, tools, agents, cache, API wait ratio, cost velocity, vim mode, agent name, token breakdown
• developer: Hides quota, tools, agents, API wait ratio, cost velocity, agent name, token breakdown
• cost-focused: Hides account, git, line changes, response speed, tools, agents, cache, vim mode, agent name, token breakdown

Refresh Rate

Configuration changes apply on the next statusline refresh, which occurs approximately every 300ms. You don't need to restart Claude Code.

Example Dialogue

User: I want a cleaner statusline
Agent: I can help configure that! What's your priority?
- Minimal (just essentials: model, context, cost, time)
- Developer focus (+ git, changes, speed, cache)
- Cost tracking (+ quota, API wait, velocity)

User: Minimal please
Agent: Here's what minimal will look like:
[Sonnet 4.5] | ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21% (210K/1M) | $32.7 | 2h46m

Applying configuration...
✅ Preset set to minimal. Changes will appear in ~300ms.

Note: At the danger threshold (default 85%), Howl will temporarily show full info for safety.
You can adjust this via /howl:threshold.