Command your fleet of agents.
Beacon is a VS Code extension that gives every window an identity — a color and a name — and a live context card for the Claude Code agent working in it: a timeline of what it did, a status dot, and a recap of everything that happened while you were away. It runs entirely on your machine: no accounts, no network, no telemetry.
You can’t command what you can’t see.
Run several coding agents at once and every window looks the same. You lose track of which one is which, tab into the wrong project, and paste an answer into the wrong session. Each agent’s context lives inside its own chat — so when you come back to a window after stepping away, you don’t know whether it finished, got stuck, or is quietly waiting on you. Beacon puts that state where you can see it without opening anything.
How it works
Identity from the workspace
Each window gets a stable color hashed from its folder path and a large project name in the title bar and status bar — so you tell windows apart with your peripheral vision, no file paths to read. Don’t like a color? Override it (or the emoji) per project with one command; reset to auto anytime.
Reads the local session transcript
Beacon watches the .jsonl transcript that Claude Code already writes to disk under ~/.claude/projects/. Every finished turn becomes one line on the card: what you asked, how the agent wrapped up, and how many files it touched — alongside the git branch, dirty count, and last commit.
A live status dot
A 🟢 / 🟡 / ⚪ dot on the card and in the status bar tells you the agent is working, waiting on your reply, or has gone quiet — so you know whether a window needs you without switching into it. The dot is a transcript-based heuristic by default, with an opt-in precise mode (below).
“While you were away”
Step out, come back, and the card surfaces a short recap of what happened while the window was out of focus — instead of making you scroll back through the chat. The break threshold is yours to set (beacon.recapAfterMinutes, default 5).
Fleet view across windows
One section on the card lists every open Beacon window — name, color, status, and last event. Click a row to jump straight into that window. Windows coordinate through small local state files; nothing leaves your machine.
Everything stays local
Beacon makes zero network calls and has zero telemetry. It only reads transcripts Claude Code already wrote, and — only if you opt in — writes a small local status file. There is no server, no analytics, no phone-home. For a tool that reads your AI chat history, that’s the whole point.
What you get
Window identity
A color and a name per project, in the title and status bar. Tell windows apart at a glance and stop pasting into the wrong agent.
Live context card
A sidebar timeline of what the agent did — edits, tests, questions — with a 🟢 / 🟡 / ⚪ status you can read without switching in.
While you were away
Step out, come back, and read a plain recap of what happened in the session — no scrolling back through the chat to catch up.
Fleet view
Every open window side by side — working, waiting, or quiet — with a click to jump to any of them. Command the whole fleet from one card.
Local & private
Runs entirely on your machine. No accounts, no network calls, no telemetry — a deliberate stance for a tool that reads your AI chat history.
Optional precise status
Opt in to add two Claude Code hooks — after a confirmation and a settings backup — so the dot knows the exact moment a turn ends or the agent needs you.
Install
Beacon is in development and not on the VS Code Marketplace yet. The fastest way in is early access — the channel and the waitlist get the .vsix builds first. Once you have one, install it straight into VS Code:
Or, in VS Code, open the Command Palette and run Extensions: Install from VSIX…, then pick the file.
Building from source instead? The extension repo packages its own .vsix:
Using it day to day
Open a window per project
Beacon colors and names each one automatically the moment it starts. Nothing to configure — parallel windows stop looking identical.
Tune the look, if you want
Run Beacon: Change Project Color or Change Project Emoji to pin a specific color or icon to a project; it applies live, no reload.
Keep the card in view
Open the Beacon panel in the activity bar. As the agent works, turns stack up on the timeline and the status dot moves between working, waiting, and quiet.
Glance, don’t switch
The status-bar dot tells you which windows need you from wherever you are. Step away and come back to the “while you were away” recap; use the fleet list to jump between sessions.
Optional: precise status
Run Beacon: Enable Precise Agent Status to add two opt-in Claude Code hooks (after a confirmation and a backup) so the dot flips the instant a turn ends. A Disable command removes only Beacon’s entries.