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Show HN: Live Claude Usage HUD for a $38 Thermalright Trofeo Vision LCD

A developer released claude-trofeo-hud, an open-source macOS tool that displays live Claude usage on a $38 Thermalright Trofeo Vision 6.86-inch LCD (1280×480, USB-C) via a reverse-engineered HID protocol. The HUD shows Pro/Max session and weekly limit bars with reset countdowns from Anthropic's usage endpoint, today's tokens and hypothetical API cost via ccusage, live session details, a clock, and an hourly token sparkline. It requires Python 3.12+, uv, Node, hidapi, and Claude Code, and can be installed as a launchd agent for unattended startup.

read2 min views1 publishedAug 15, 2026
Show HN: Live Claude Usage HUD for a $38 Thermalright Trofeo Vision LCD
Image: Michielbdejong (auto-discovered)

A desk HUD that shows live Claude usage on a Thermalright Trofeo Vision 6.86" LCD (1280×480, USB-C, ~$38), driven from macOS. Inspired by the r/ClaudeAI "$38 Claude LCD Table Display" post.

What it shows: Pro/Max session + weekly limit bars with reset countdowns (from Anthropic's usage endpoint), today's tokens and hypothetical API cost (via ccusage), the live session (project, model, burn rate), a clock, and an hourly token sparkline.

  • macOS, Python 3.12+, uv, Node (fornpx ccusage

) brew install hidapi

(C library behind thehidapi

Python package)- Claude Code installed and logged in (the HUD reads its local logs and its OAuth token from the Keychain — read-only, nothing leaves your machine except the usage query to api.anthropic.com)

uv sync
uv run python -m claude_trofeo_hud preview   # render mock layout to out/preview.png
uv run python -m claude_trofeo_hud run       # live HUD on the LCD (Ctrl-C stops)
uv run python -m claude_trofeo_hud install-agent   # start at login via launchd

On the first run

, macOS asks for Keychain access to "Claude Code-credentials" — choose Always Allow so the daemon can run unattended.

uninstall-agent

stops and removes the launchd agent. Config lives in config.toml (fps, JPEG quality, night dim/off hours). Logs go to ~/Library/Logs/claude-trofeo-hud/

.

The panel is not a monitor — it's a USB HID device (VID:PID 0416:5302

) that accepts JPEG frames over a reverse-engineered protocol. We use the device classes from thermalright-trcc-linux with its HidApiTransport

(IOHIDManager), bypassing its CLI — trcc's default transport routes through libusb, which macOS blocks for HID devices. The firmware blanks when idle, so the HUD streams continuously (default 2 fps). See PLANNING.md for the full protocol notes.

"Access denied (insufficient permissions)"— something is opening the device via libusb instead of hidapi; make sure you're running our CLI, nottrcc

directly.Panel shows boot logo / blanks— no frames arriving; check~/Library/Logs/claude-trofeo-hud/hud.log

. Unplug/replug is handled automatically with backoff.Empty cost/tokensnpx ccusage

must work in a terminal first; the launchd agent bakes the node path into its plist at install time, so re-runinstall-agent

after Node upgrades.Limits stale— Keychain access not granted, or you're logged out of Claude Code.

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