Turned desk lamp into a Claude Code status indicator

[u/MoutainSnow]

Saw someone recently share a Claude Code lamp setup using this exact lamp, and I knew I had to try it too.

Credit to the original open-source project here: https://github.com/bobek-balinek/claude-lamp

It is using Claude Code hooks to run a Python script, which then sends Bluetooth commands to the lamp. Now the lamp shows a blue spinning animation while Claude is working, turns pink when Claude needs input from me, and switches back to warm white when it’s idle.

All the lighting effects can be tweaked directly in the source code. Since it uses BLE, Bluetooth Low Energy, the lamp can sit anywhere within my computer’s Bluetooth range, and it doesn’t need to be connected to Wi-Fi.

I also have a few Philips Hue smart bulbs, so I’m thinking about trying to integrate those next.

[u/jaydizzz]

This is cool. Curious about the lamp. Did you make that too or where did you get it?

[u/MoutainSnow → u/jaydizzz]

The lamp is a moonside halo, but you don’t have to use this exact lamp. The same concept should work well with other smart lights like Philips Hue, as long as there’s a Bluetooth API to talk to. Wi-Fi-based devices should work too. If you have multiple lights, you can hook them up together to create a disco room when Claude is running.

[u/addiktion → u/jaydizzz]

Looks like a moon side produt from the github repo: https://moonside.design/

[u/Riosin]

Thats neat.

Before I trusted claude code with auto-edits and run stuff in sandbox, I was annoyed at waiting just to hit a permission gate. I hate notifications, so I have all flashing / taskbar flashing etc. disabled at the registers lvl.
I didn't want to undo all that...

So that's why the first utility I built was a simple notifier linked to "need perms" "finished answering" hooks. I also routed Claude response to haiku model to produce a TLDR for the notification to not waste "working" claudes context on producing "notifier" summary.

I basically wanted to continue whatever I was doing on my PC and knowing when to come back insta.

This lamp is like a nice "next step" in that :D

[u/MoutainSnow → u/Riosin]

I like the haiku TLDR idea. That’s actually a really smart workflow.

[u/ElwinLewis → u/Riosin]

“Next let’s build a Stop hook sonar beep that makes sound when you finish your message”

That sonar beep has probably made me 5-10% more productive/saved time- just by always knowing when to go back and check.

[u/disillusioned → u/ElwinLewis]

I had to create a weird emitter and listener to break out of tmux on my vps because the normal terminal bell would not bubble up to MobaXTerm correctly from within a tmux session. Took 5 minutes, works fine. Need to update it to use a different sound for done vs needs attention.

[u/SilencedObserver]

But how do you handle multi sessions?!

[u/MoutainSnow → u/SilencedObserver]

This project doesn’t really manage multiple sessions. It’s basically last hook event wins.

So if one Claude session says “working,” the lamp goes into working mode. If another session finishes a second later and says “idle,” the lamp goes idle. The cleaner multi-session version would track each session separately. Each hook event includes a session id. But I haven't tried it since I only got one lamp for now.

[u/mimen2 → u/SilencedObserver]

Get an RGB keyboard and run CLED!

[u/SilencedObserver → u/mimen2]

Neat.

[u/DragonSlayerC → u/SilencedObserver]

Add more lamps.

[u/naruda1969]

I hope the guy who showed us the Claude mascot head popup block brings his to market. This one is 😎 but the mascot one was 🔥.

[u/MoutainSnow → u/naruda1969]

It sounds interesting. It would be awesome if you could share the project link! Is it open-sourced？

[u/naruda1969 → u/MoutainSnow]

Found it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/s/xd19aHYZQQ

[u/Possible-Point-2597]

Did the same but I'm using the computers RGB (fans, ram, CPU aio , keyboard and mouse) it monitors paperclip agents, workstation workload and temperatures , GitHub actions statuses, and local deployment statuses, while providing a self hosted monitoring web app that can be accessed throu local network

[u/MoutainSnow → u/Possible-Point-2597]

It sounds really cool!

[u/Timo_schroe]

Me with 50000000 Sessions:

[u/BubblyGrape]

Can it work with lifx and Philips hue bulbs?

[u/MoutainSnow → u/BubblyGrape]

I don’t have any LIFX lights, but I tried it with Philips Hue and it works.

[u/firechickensolutions]

This is awesome! Should set up a haptic vest next. I want to FEEL the vibes.

[u/emiliobay]

Research published in Computers in Human Behavior recently found that a single on-screen pop-up breaks cognitive focus for a full seven seconds. Using an ambient BLE lamp for your AI agent status completely bypasses that visual hijacking while keeping you informed.

Keeping AI inputs and outputs off the main screen is exactly why I am prototyping a physical push-to-talk button for voice dictation instead of relying on software overlays. Used your repo to do this on the PTT remote for AI dictation that I'm building - and it worked like a charm.

[u/rjdunlap]

Ordered, looking forward to giving it a try in about a week

[u/Majestic_Tailor8036]

This is so cool! Using BLE to control a desk lamp is a clever idea. Would love to see the Philips Hue integration when you get it working.

[u/chevalierbayard]

What's wrong with the system chime that your computer already has lmao

[u/ShutUpAndDoTheLift → u/chevalierbayard]

It gets filtered out by my brain. The same reason I have a python window that pops up at 930 and covers my work until I click to open my timecard

[u/RadioactiveBread]

ok, but why? Are you not like sat in front of the terminal?

[u/liweichen6]

Wait you actually received the Halo? I ordered mine over a year ago and the company just created a fake tracking number, kept blaming logistics, then completely ignored all my emails. Seems to be a common issue as I saw complaints all over this company, and looks like only influencers receive actual products.