Getting Started
The Context Manager menubar app gives you a visual interface to manage your Claude Code sessions. Monitor all your projects, resume sessions across branches, and generate AI summaries.
Requirements
- macOS 12.0 or later
- Claude Code installed and configured
- Anthropic API key (for AI summaries - optional)
Installation
Install the App
Open the downloaded DMG file and drag Context Manager to your Applications folder.
Launch
Open Context Manager from your Applications folder. You may need to right-click and select "Open" the first time due to macOS security settings.
First Launch
Open the app from your Applications folder. You'll see a new icon in your menubar. Click it to open the session manager.
On first launch, macOS may ask for permission to access files. Grant permission to allow session discovery.
Configuration
API Key Setup
To enable AI-generated session summaries, you need an Anthropic API key. The app uses Claude Haiku 4.5 for fast, cost-effective summaries.
- Click the Settings (gear icon) in the menubar app
- Enter your Anthropic API key in the API Key field
- Click Save
Alternatively, set the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable.
Launch at Login
Enable "Launch at Login" in Settings to have the app start automatically when you log in. The app runs quietly in your menubar, ready when you need it.
Auto-Updates
The app automatically checks for updates and notifies you when a new version is available. Click "Check for Updates" in Settings to manually check, or updates will download in the background.
Features
Session Status Detection
Sessions show Running (Claude process active), Waiting (needs input), or no badge (idle). Stop checking terminals one by one to see which needs your attention.
Project Discovery
The app automatically discovers all your Claude Code projects by scanning ~/.claude/projects/. Projects are grouped and sorted by recent activity.
AI Summaries
Generate concise topic labels for each session using Claude Haiku. Click "Generate Summaries" in Settings to process all sessions, or regenerate specific ones.
Cross-Branch Resume
Resume sessions from any branch, even if you're on a different branch. The app will offer to switch branches for you, stashing any uncommitted changes automatically.
Session Forking
Fork any session to explore different approaches without losing your original context. The forked session starts from the same point, like branching in git.
Session Visibility
Hide sessions you don't need anymore without deleting them. Toggle "Show Hidden" to see all sessions when needed.
Real-Time Updates
File watching keeps the session list in sync as you work. New sessions appear automatically, and timestamps update in real-time.
Context Health Indicators
Visual badges show context usage: Fresh, Aging, Degraded, or Critical. Know when to fork to a fresh session before quality degrades.
Context File Detection
Automatically detects CLAUDE.md, .context, and task files in your projects. See at a glance which projects have context configured.
Usage Tips
Status Badges: Running means Claude process is active. Waiting means file was modified recently but no Claude process found. No badge means idle.
Quick Resume: Click any session to resume it. If it's on a different branch, you'll see options to switch & resume or resume anyway.
Branch Badge: Sessions on a different branch show a branch badge. This helps identify context that may be out of sync.
Latest Badge: The most recent session for each branch is marked as "Latest" so you can quickly find your active work.
Keyboard Shortcuts: Press R to refresh sessions, Cmd+, to open Settings, and Escape to close the window.
Context Health: When you see Degraded or Critical badges, consider forking to a fresh session. Quality typically degrades around 20-40% context usage.
Ticket Linking: Click the ticket field to add references like LIN-423 or ENG-100. The app auto-extracts tickets from conversations when possible.
Troubleshooting
No projects showing up
Make sure you have used Claude Code at least once. The app reads from ~/.claude/projects/ which is created when you start your first Claude Code session.
AI summaries not generating
Check that your API key is correctly entered in Settings. The key should start with sk-ant-. Also ensure you have API credits available.
Branch detection not working
The app reads branch information from the session's cwd at creation time. If a project is not a git repository, branch features will be disabled for those sessions.