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Paws

Your sub-agents, out in the yard.

Paws is a Mac menu-bar app that shows what Claude Code's sub-agents are doing as a pack of animated dogs. Each agent is a dog. It wags while it works, comes back with its report, and falls asleep.

Enquire about access How it works

Beta: it works, but things may still change. Paws is not a public download — get in touch if you would like to try it.

  • macOS 14 or later
  • Apple silicon and Intel
  • Signed and notarized by Apple

How it works

A small file, read by a small app.

Paws does not watch your screen or your conversations. A companion plugin in Claude Code writes down which sub-agents are running and what they report. Paws reads that and draws the dogs.

  1. A Claude Code session

    Desktop app or terminal. When it sends a sub-agent out, that agent gets a breed and a name.

  2. The companion writes a small file

    One JSON file per session, at most four writes a second, in a folder only you can read.

  3. Paws reads it

    The app watches that folder and nothing else under ~/.claude. It only reads.

  4. Your dogs move

    Out, waiting, back with a report, asleep. The menu bar keeps the count.

The file Paws reads
~/.claude/paws/live/<session>.json
~/.claude/paws/live/latest.json
Ask from a Claude Code session
/paws status
Paws: 2 out · 1 back

Meet the pack

Fourteen breeds, picked by role.

Every session's main thread is Pelayo the Border Collie. Sub-agents get a breed from what they do, and the first free name of that breed. The same kind of agent is the same kind of dog every time.

  • Pelayo
    Border Collie
    main session
  • Perla
    German Shepherd
    implementer
  • Jaime
    Australian Shepherd
    reviewer
  • Luna
    Maltipoo
    tests
  • Oliver
    Spanish Water Dog
    verifier
  • Cid
    Beagle
    Explore
  • Sunny Goldie, Toby
    Golden Retriever
    general-purpose
  • Bernie Brandy
    Saint Bernard
    rescue
  • Maria
    Poodle
    Plan
  • Stella
    Dalmatian
    first other agent type
  • Christian
    Husky
    second other agent type
  • Covadonga
    Shiba Inu
    third other agent type
  • Pedro
    Bernedoodle
    fourth other agent type
  • Niebla
    White Golden Retriever
    fifth other agent type

A number only shows up when more dogs of one breed are out at once than the breed has names, so you get “Sunny 2” only with four goldens out together. Agents you named yourself keep their name.

The four statuses

Read the ring, then the pill.

Each dog wears a coloured ring and a label. The colour is the quick answer. The word says the same thing, so nothing depends on colour alone.

  • Working#1D9E75

    Out in the yard on its task. The bubble shows the tool it is using right now.

  • Waiting#EF9F27

    Waiting on a shell command. It keeps its place, so the cards do not shuffle.

  • Back#378ADD

    Returned with a report. The first line of it is in the bubble, and you get a notification.

  • Napping#888780

    Asleep 20 seconds after coming back, in a muted colour.

Earlier

A dog that has napped for 10 minutes folds away into the Earlier list, one line per job, so the yard stays about the dogs that are doing something.

Screens

Panel, big window, focus view.

These are renders from the app itself. Open the panel with ⌥⌘P and the big window with ⌥⌘B. The menu bar reads “3 out · 1 back” while you work.

The Paws big window with three yards side by side: garden-app, photo-tagger and invoice-cli, and a focus view of Perla on the right.
The big windowOne yard per session, side by side. Pick a dog to read its task and its report on the right.
The Paws floating panel in light mode: Pelayo, Luna working, Perla back, two napping dogs.
The floating panelOne session's pack in a small strip that stays on top and never takes focus from Claude.
The same panel in dark mode.
Light and darkIt follows your Mac's appearance, or you pick one in Settings.
The panel in the 3D style, in dark mode.
Painted or 3DTwo looks for the same pack. Switch in the menu or Settings.
The focus view for Perla: a large picture of the dog, status Back, her report, tokens and tools.
The focus viewPlays the dog's full video next to its task, report, tokens and tools.
The menu-bar menu listing three sessions with their dogs and counts.
The menuSessions with their dogs and counts. Open the panel or the big window, switch style, turn notifications on or off.
Part of Settings: general options, notifications per session and the Claude Code connection.
SettingsLaunch at login, notifications per session, and the connection to Claude Code.
Cid is backFound 7 folders that read Garden.plist…
now

A notification when a dog comes back

The banner shows the dog and the first line of its report. By default it only appears while the panel is hidden, and you can switch it on or off for each session.

Rename your dogs

Call them what you like.

Each breed has its default names. Type a different one in Settings and the dog has it from then on.

Paws keeps the names in a small file, and the companion reads it, so the new name also shows up inside Claude Code.

~/.claude/paws/names.json
The rename sheet in Paws with a dog's name being edited.
The rename sheetRight-click any dog in the panel or the big window to rename it.

Privacy

It reads its own files. That is all.

Paws is local. The facts are short enough to list.

Its own snapshot files

It reads the small files in ~/.claude/paws/live/ and the names file. It never opens your transcripts, your sessions or your settings.

No network

No outgoing connections and no listening sockets. The companion has no network code either.

No analytics

No tracking, no account, no telemetry. Nothing about your work leaves your Mac.

Your folder, your permissions

Snapshot files are private to you. Paws writes only the names file, and installs the companion when you press Connect.

Access

Getting hold of Paws.

Paws is not a public download. If you would like to try it, get in touch. Installing it then takes three steps, and Paws installs its companion plugin for you, after you say yes.

  1. Open the disk image

    Double-click it.

  2. Drag Paws to Applications

    Then eject the disk.

  3. Connect to Claude Code

    On first launch, press Connect. Paws shows what it will write before it does. Then start a new session and type /paws status.

Enquire about access

Beta. It works, but things may still change.

  • macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon and Intel
  • Claude Code, signed in: the desktop app, or the CLI version 2.1.268 or later
  • Signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens normally

Read the user guide

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