How to customize the Claude Code terminal: themes, status line and animations
A practical tour of what you can change in Claude Code's terminal interface: the theme, the status line, output style, and an animated view of what Claude is doing with the Asciimood plugin.
Claude Code's terminal can be customized at several levels: the color theme (/config), a custom status line (/statusline), and plugins. For a live, animated view of what Claude is doing, the free Asciimood plugin plays an ASCII animation that changes as Claude thinks, reads, writes and runs commands.
1. The theme
Claude Code ships with light and dark themes, including high-contrast and colorblind-friendly variants. Open /config to pick one. Choose the one that matches your terminal's background, so text and diffs stay readable.
2. The status line
The status line is the strip under the prompt. Claude Code lets you replace it with the output of your own script: the model in use, the git branch, the working directory, the cost of the session, anything a shell command can print. Type /statusline and describe what you want, and Claude Code sets it up for you in your settings.
3. Plugins
Plugins are the deepest level. A plugin can add slash commands, hooks that react to what Claude does, and changes to the interface itself. They install from a marketplace with one command; see how to install a Claude Code plugin.
4. An animation that follows Claude: Asciimood
Asciimood is a free plugin that turns the working state of Claude Code into a looping ASCII animation, drawn in the terminal above the prompt:
- a different animation for each state: waiting, thinking, reading, writing, running a command, error, done;
- more than twenty free animations (sleeping cat, DNA helix, character rain, spinning torus, plasma, vortex…), with an optional Pro library;
- routine tool calls fold into one grey line, while errors, permission prompts, questions and answers always stay visible;
- the drawing sits on your terminal's own background, so it fits your theme.
/plugin install asciimood --marketplace tmdlz/asciimoodThen type /asciimood: a setup page opens in your browser, linked to that Claude Code, where you pick an animation per state, one for everything, or shuffle. Your choice plays within seconds.
Which customization for which need?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Readable colors on your terminal | the theme, in /config |
| Model, branch or cost always on screen | a custom status line, via /statusline |
| To know what Claude is doing without reading the scroll | Asciimood |
| Fewer lines of tool output | Asciimood's folding |
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the Claude Code spinner?
Claude Code's own working indicator is simple text. The free Asciimood plugin replaces it, while a turn runs, with a full ASCII animation that changes with what Claude is doing, plus a status line with the current action and elapsed time.
How do I add a custom status line to Claude Code?
Type /statusline in Claude Code and describe what you want shown; Claude Code writes the configuration for you.
Do Asciimood animations work on a light terminal?
Yes. The animations are drawn on the terminal's own background, and white or grey drawings take your terminal's text colour, so they stay readable on light and dark themes.