tablo

About tablo

tablo is a desktop widget that sits in the corner of your screen and watches Claude Code and Codex sessions. It shows a live context-window meter per session, surfaces tool approval requests, and nudges you when an agent needs attention. The widget uses a cat mascot that changes mood based on agent activity-sleeping when idle, running when working, and alarmed near context limits.

Review

tablo addresses a specific friction point for developers who run multiple AI coding agents in parallel. Instead of a usage dashboard that reports costs after the fact, the widget tracks real-time conversation context filling up across sessions. The cat stays out of the way until a session approaches its limit or gets stuck, at which point a visual nudge prompts you to check in.

Key Features

• Per-session context-window meter that updates live for each Claude Code or Codex session
• Cat mood states (sleeping, running, alarmed) that reflect agent status at a glance
• Desktop widget built with Tauri, not a web dashboard, keeping resource usage low
• Nudges when a session requires attention-stuck, near context limit, or awaiting tool approval
• Session panel and dashboard accessible via a tap on the cat or a keyboard shortcut

Pricing and Value

tablo is free and open source. No paid pricing tiers or plans are mentioned.

Pros

• Lightweight: the maker reports 45 MB of memory usage while tracking seven sessions
• Glanceable peripheral monitor that doesn't occupy screen real estate with a full dashboard
• Per-session context meters give early visibility into which agent is about to auto-compact
• Works with tmux to remember session and pane mappings
• Open source codebase allows for community contributions and forks

Cons

• Nudge is visual only; no sound or system notification reaches you if you're not looking at the widget
• Pane-to-session mapping does not survive a restart unless an agent performs an action, so stuck sessions may remain hidden after a reboot
• The tool is not well suited for users who need early context warnings (e.g., at 75%) or priority-based alerting-these are planned but not yet shipped

tablo fits developers who routinely kick off several AI coding sessions and switch away, and who want a low-effort monitor in their peripheral vision. It works best on macOS with tmux for persistent session mapping. Those who require audio alerts or session priority tagging will need to wait for upcoming updates.

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