Tracking AI Token Usage with TokenBar
The author built a macOS menu bar app called TokenBar to track AI token usage in real-time, after being surprised by a high bill from using AI tools like Claude. TokenBar provides visibility into token consumption to help catch bad habits early.
Why it matters
TokenBar addresses a common pain point for developers, indie hackers, and others who use AI tools extensively, by providing real-time visibility into token consumption.
Key Points
- 1The author was surprised by a high bill from using AI tools like Claude
- 2TokenBar is a macOS app that tracks AI token usage live in the menu bar
- 3The app was built to provide visibility into token consumption and catch bad habits
- 4The author originally built it for themselves, but others found it useful as well
Details
The author was using AI tools like Claude to be more productive, but was surprised by the high bill that resulted from all the little prompts, background usage, testing loops, and switching between tools. What annoyed the author most was the invisibility of the token usage while working. So they built TokenBar, a simple macOS menu bar app that tracks AI token usage in real-time. The app provides a live token count in the menu bar, allowing users to catch excessive usage early on. While the author initially built it for themselves, they found that others had the same need for visibility into their AI tool costs, leading them to release TokenBar publicly as a $5 lifetime product.
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