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HeadroomProductDeveloper tools

See where your AI usage goes.

Remaining room and reset time, readable at a glance in the menu bar, with usage traced to the project and model that spent it.

  • Where it standsInvite-only beta
  • Year2026
  • What we builtNative Mac menu-bar app, dashboard and product site

Headroom is a native Mac app that shows how much of your AI coding plans you have left, when they reset, and which projects, models and requests used them. Built first for our own work, now in beta.

Visit headroom.barHow it works

[01] Where it started

Rolling limits, no idea what was left.

AI coding plans run on rolling limits, and each provider showed a number somewhere, one account at a time.

  1. Rolling limits

    AI coding plans such as ChatGPT Codex and Claude Code run on rolling limits: a five-hour window, a weekly window and resets that move with your usage.

  2. More than one subscription

    We build with them every day, across more than one subscription. Each provider shows a number somewhere, one account at a time.

  3. History by hand

    The menu-bar tool we used showed limits but not where the usage went, so history meant querying its database by hand.

  4. So we built it

    We wanted the answer at a glance, so in September 2026 we built it.

How it ranBefore

  • Provider dashboardsA number somewhere, one account at a time.
  • A menu-bar appShowed limits, but not where the usage went.
  • Database queriesHistory meant querying the app's database by hand.

What was breaking

  1. 01

    Heavy work ran out of room at the worst moment.

  2. 02

    Two subscriptions meant two numbers and no picture of both.

  3. 03

    Nothing showed which project, model or setting was burning the plan.

[02] What we built

A menu bar that answers in seconds.

A native Mac app that lives in the menu bar and opens into a full dashboard, plus the product site, accounts and update feed.

  1. Menu bar and dashboard

    A native Mac app that lives in the menu bar and opens into a full dashboard.

  2. Everything behind it

    Behind it sit the product site, accounts and update feed.

01 / 02

The Mac app

For developers on AI coding plansmacOS 15 or later

Headroom sits in the menu bar and opens into a full dashboard: what is left, when it resets and where it went, from the last hour to the last thirty days.

  • Live limits and reset times per account
  • Usage by model, reasoning level and project
  • Compare view on recorded work
  • Share card and replay video, names hidden
Real screenModel usage

5 real screens · tap to enlarge

  • Model usage

    Which models used your plan this week, sized by share, with daily usage and its API-equivalent cost beside it.

  • Reasoning levels

    The same week by reasoning level, so heavy settings that eat the plan are easy to spot.

  • Where usage went

    Projects found on the Mac automatically, ranked by the tokens they used.

  • One project, inside

    Activity over time, the models behind it and every session, for a single project.

  • Compare

    Models side by side on real recorded work, not benchmarks.

Screen 01 / 05

02 / 02

Site and accounts

For beta usersheadroom.bar

The product site explains Headroom and runs the invite-only beta, accounts and the public update feed.

  • Invite-only beta sign-up
  • Accounts for usage sync
  • Signed, notarised updates

2 real screens · tap to enlarge

  • headroom.bar

    The product site, with the menu-bar view and the invite-only beta.

  • On a phone

    The site on a phone: what Headroom shows, and how to get access.

Screen 01 / 02

What the dashboard shows

What is left, when it resets and where it went, from the last hour to the last thirty days.

  1. 01

    Live limits and reset times

    Per account

  2. 02

    Usage by model and reasoning level

    Daily use and API-equivalent cost

  3. 03

    Projects, found automatically

    Sessions inside

  4. 04

    Compare view

    Real recorded work

  5. 05

    Share card and replay video

    Names hidden

Headroom, screen: Model usage
Model usage. Which models used your plan this week, sized by share, with daily usage and its API-equivalent cost beside it.

[03] How it works

From install to the answer.

Headroom reads the usage logs the AI tools already keep on the Mac, and only usage counts sync to your account.

  1. Native and local

    Headroom is a native Swift and SwiftUI app with a local SQLite store, desktop widgets and signed, notarised updates.

  2. Reads what is there

    It reads the usage logs the AI tools already keep on the Mac.

  3. Your work stays put

    It does not upload your prompts, replies or code; only usage counts sync to your Headroom account.

  1. You

    Download the signed app and connect your AI accounts.

  2. HeadroomTakes over here

    It reads the usage logs the AI tools already keep on the Mac, and asks providers only for your own limits.

  3. You

    The menu bar shows what is left on each plan and when it resets.

  4. You

    The dashboard breaks usage down by model, reasoning level, project and session.

  5. You

    Put models side by side on work you have actually done.

  6. You

    Export a card or a twelve-second replay with project names hidden.

Real screenheadroom.bar

How it behaves

Recorded on headroom.bar

  • Every limit, one glance away, recorded on headroom.bar

    Every limit, one glance away

    The menu bar shows what is left on each plan and when it resets, for every account.

  • By model or by reasoning level

    Usage by model, with daily use and its API-equivalent cost, or the same week by reasoning level, so heavy settings stand out.

  • Projects, found on the Mac

    Projects found on the Mac automatically, ranked by tokens used. Open one for its activity over time, the models behind it and every session.

  • Compare on your own work

    Put models side by side on work you have actually done, not benchmarks.

  • Share card and replay

    Export a card or a twelve-second replay with project names hidden.

[04] What we changed

Every limit, one glance away.

Headroom turns a vague worry into a number you can read before heavy work, and shows exactly where the plan went.

  1. A number, not a worry

    Headroom turns a vague worry into a number you can read before you start heavy work, and shows exactly where the plan went.

  2. Accounts stay separate

    Two subscriptions are two limits, never one comfortable-looking total.

Before: Provider dashboards, A menu-bar app, Database queries. Now: Invite-only beta.Drag, or use the arrow keys

  1. 01

    Before: Check each provider's page, one account at a time.

    Now: What is left and when it resets, for every account, in the menu bar.

    Headroom, screen: headroom.bar

  2. 02

    Before: Guess which model used the plan.

    Now: Usage by model, with daily use and its API-equivalent cost.

    Headroom, screen: Model usage

  3. 03

    Before: Heavy reasoning settings eat the plan unnoticed.

    Now: The same week by reasoning level, so heavy settings stand out.

    Headroom, screen: Reasoning levels

  4. 04

    Before: No link between usage and the work.

    Now: Projects found on the Mac automatically, ranked by tokens used.

    Headroom, screen: Where usage went

  5. 05

    Before: Choose models by benchmark headlines.

    Now: Compare models side by side on your own recorded work.

    Headroom, screen: Compare

[05] What changed

From a worry to a number.

Headroom is in an invite-only beta at headroom.bar, with 68 updates in nine days on its public release feed.

Headroom, phone screen: On a phone
On a phone. The site on a phone: what Headroom shows, and how to get access.
First commit to First release, 0.9.1, to the invite-only beta
26days
What the dashboard shows
5
From install to the answer.
6steps

Where it stands

Invite-only beta

Liveheadroom.bar

4 Sep 2026Oct 2026

Dates from our project records and release history.

  1. Commit

    First commit.

    then, +26 days
  2. Release

    First release, 0.9.1, to the invite-only beta.

    headroom.bar

    Headroom, screen: headroom.bar
    then, +8 days
  3. Release

    Version 0.9.69: 68 updates in nine days.

  4. Release

    Windows version in testing.

Dates from our project records and release history.

  • What is left and when it resets is readable at a glance, per account.

  • Usage is traced to the project and model that spent it.

  • It replaced the menu-bar tool we used before as our daily view.

  • Its public release feed shows 68 updates in nine days, from 30 September to 8 October 2026.

  1. Invite-only beta

    Headroom is in an invite-only beta at headroom.bar. Its public release feed shows 68 updates in nine days, the pace we work at when the product is our own.

  2. Our daily view

    It replaced the menu-bar tool we used before as our daily view of the limits.

  3. Windows next

    A Windows version is in testing.

Built with

The tools behind it.

See the full toolbench
  • Swift
  • Sparkle
  • Astro
  • Convex

Also in the build: SwiftUI, SQLite, WidgetKit

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