setup-statusline - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: setup-statusline description: Customize Codex statusline for better context awareness

Created: 2026-02-09-00-00 Last Updated: 2026-02-09-00-00

Setup Statusline

Customize your Codex statusline to show context usage, git branch, and PR counter.

"For easier Codex-juggling, use /statusline to customize your status bar to always show context usage and current git branch." - Codex team

Why Customize Statusline?

Problems it solves:

❌ Don't know when context is getting full
❌ Forget which branch you're on
❌ Lost track of PR count (when to assess?)
❌ Hard to tell worktrees apart

What statusline shows:

✅ Context usage percentage
✅ Current git branch
✅ PR counter (optional)
✅ Worktree name (optional)

Especially useful with:

Multiple worktrees (3-5 Codex sessions)
Long coding sessions
Frequent branch switching

Basic Setup

Step 1: Use Built-in Statusline Command

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% | {{branch}}"

Result:

45% | feature-auth

Step 2: Customize Format

Available variables:

{{context}} - Context usage percentage
{{branch}} - Current git branch
{{repo}} - Repository name
{{user}} - Current user
{{cwd}} - Current working directory

Example formats:

Minimal:

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% | {{branch}}"
# Output: 45% | feature-auth

Detailed:

/statusline set-format "{{repo}} | {{branch}} | {{context}}%"
# Output: my-app | feature-auth | 45%

With worktree:

/statusline set-format "{{branch}} ({{context}}%)"
# Output: feature-auth (45%)

Advanced Customization

For Multiple Worktrees

When running 3-5 Codex sessions, you need to quickly identify which is which:

Option 1: Branch Name Prominent

/statusline set-format "🔷 {{branch}} | {{context}}%"

Terminal tabs:

🔷 main | 25%
🔷 feature-auth | 45%
🔷 feature-ui | 62%
🔷 bugfix-login | 38%

Option 2: Include Repo Name (if same worktree used across projects)

/statusline set-format "{{repo}}/{{branch}} | {{context}}%"

Output:

my-app/feature-auth | 45%
other-app/feature-ui | 30%

Add PR Counter

If you've integrated PR counter tracking:

/statusline set-format "{{branch}} | {{context}}% | PR:{{pr_counter}}/3"

Output:

feature-auth | 45% | PR:1/3

Shows you're 1 PR into the cycle (need 2 more before assessment).

Note: This requires custom integration. The PR counter is tracked by the post-merge git hook at $(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)/hooks-pr-counter.

Color Coding (Terminal-Dependent)

Some terminals support ANSI color codes:

# Context < 50%: Green
# Context 50-80%: Yellow
# Context > 80%: Red

/statusline set-format "\033[{{context_color}}m{{context}}%\033[0m | {{branch}}"

Check your terminal's documentation for color support.

Terminal-Specific Setup

Ghostty (Team Favorite)

Why Ghostty:

Synchronized rendering
24-bit color support
Proper unicode support
Fast performance

Statusline in Ghostty:

# Full unicode support
/statusline set-format "{{context}}% • {{branch}}"
# Output: 45% • feature-auth

tmux Integration

If using tmux for multiple worktrees:

# Set tmux window name to match branch
tmux rename-window "{{branch}}"

# Or in statusline:
/statusline set-format "[{{tmux_session}}] {{branch}} | {{context}}%"

iTerm2

iTerm2 can show badges with statusline info:

# Use iTerm2 badges feature
# statusline can update badge text

Context Awareness Best Practices

Understand Context Levels

0-50% (🟢 Green - Safe)

Work normally
No need to compact

50-80% (🟡 Yellow - Monitor)

Watch for degradation
Consider /compact
Plan when to compact

80-100% (🔴 Red - Action Needed)

Run /compact to compress context
Or start fresh session
Don't continue without action

Automated Alerts

Set up alerts based on context:

# If statusline shows >80%
# Automatically suggest: "Consider running /compact"

# If statusline shows >90%
# Automatically suggest: "Start fresh session with /compact"

Workflow Integration

With Worktrees

Terminal tab naming strategy:

Tab 1: Main           | Statusline: 25% | main
Tab 2: Auth Feature   | Statusline: 45% | feature-auth
Tab 3: UI Redesign    | Statusline: 62% | feature-ui  ⚠️ Getting high
Tab 4: Bug Fix        | Statusline: 38% | bugfix-login

Quick glance tells you:

Which worktree/branch you're in
Which sessions need context management
Easy to juggle 3-5 Codex sessions

With Color-Coded Terminals

Terminal tab colors:

Blue: Main branch
Green: Features (context < 50%)
Yellow: Features (context 50-80%)
Red: Bug fixes or high context

Combined with statusline:

Color = purpose
Statusline = status

Example Configurations

Minimal (Recommended)

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% | {{branch}}"

Pros:

Clean and simple
Shows essentials
Easy to read

Best for:

Single worktree
Occasional Codex use

Detailed (For Power Users)

/statusline set-format "{{repo}}/{{branch}} | Ctx:{{context}}% | PR:{{pr_counter}}/3"

Pros:

Maximum information
Great for multi-worktree
PR tracking visible

Best for:

Multiple worktrees
Daily Codex use
Following Codex automation workflow

Minimal with Emoji

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% 📊 {{branch}} 🌿"

Pros:

Visual indicators
Quick recognition
Fun!

Best for:

Personal preference
Visual learners

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Context-First

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% | {{branch}}"

When: Context management is priority

Pattern 2: Branch-First

/statusline set-format "{{branch}} ({{context}}%)"

When: Multiple branches/worktrees

Pattern 3: Full Context

/statusline set-format "{{repo}}/{{branch}} | {{context}}% | {{cwd}}"

When: Working across multiple repos

Troubleshooting

Statusline Not Showing

# Check if statusline enabled
/statusline status

# Re-enable
/statusline enable

# Reset to default
/statusline reset

Variables Not Expanding

# Check format string syntax
/statusline get-format

# Ensure variables spelled correctly:
# {{context}} not {context}
# {{branch}} not {branch}

Context Percentage Incorrect

# Context shown in statusline may update with delay
# For real-time: check Codex's response
# Statusline updates: every few commands

Team Setup Examples

Team Member 1: Worktree Heavy User

/statusline set-format "{{branch}} | {{context}}%"

# Uses with 5 tmux sessions:
# [main | 20%]
# [feature-auth | 45%]
# [feature-ui | 60%]
# [feature-api | 35%]
# [bugfix-race | 50%]

Team Member 2: Simple Setup

/statusline set-format "{{context}}%"

# Just shows context
# Minimal distraction
# Uses terminal tab names for branch info

Team Member 3: Full Details

/statusline set-format "{{repo}}/{{branch}} ({{context}}%) [{{user}}]"

# Everything visible
# Great for pair programming
# Easy to share screenshots

Advanced: Custom Scripts

If statusline doesn't support something you need, create wrapper:

# Custom statusline script
#!/bin/bash

CONTEXT=$(codex context-usage)  # Hypothetical
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
PR_COUNT=$(cat "$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)/hooks-pr-counter" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)

echo "$CONTEXT% | $BRANCH | PR:$PR_COUNT/3"

Then integrate with terminal prompt or tmux.

Related Commands

/compact - Compress context when it gets full
/list-worktrees - See all worktrees (helps with tab naming)
CODEX.md - Workflow auto-loaded (includes statusline recommendations)

Team Tip from Boris

"For easier Codex-juggling, use /statusline to customize your status bar to always show context usage and current git branch. Many of us also color-code and name our terminal tabs, sometimes using tmux — one tab per task/worktree."

Translation:

Customize statusline = better awareness
Name/color terminal tabs = easier navigation
One tab per worktree = organized parallel work

Quick Start

Right now, set up your statusline:

/statusline set-format "{{context}}% | {{branch}}"

If using worktrees:

# In each worktree terminal:
/statusline set-format "{{branch}} | {{context}}%"

# Name your terminal tabs:
# Main
# Auth Feature
# UI Redesign
# Bug Fix

Start juggling Codex sessions like a pro! 🎯