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

> Source: <https://github.com/christensen143/claude-trofeo-hud>
> Published: 2026-08-15 21:42:39+00:00

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](https://github.com/ryoppippi/ccusage)), the live session
(project, model, burn rate), a clock, and an hourly token sparkline.

- macOS, Python 3.12+,
[uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/), Node (for`npx ccusage`

) `brew install hidapi`

(C library behind the`hidapi`

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](/christensen143/claude-trofeo-hud/blob/main/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](https://github.com/Lexonight1/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](/christensen143/claude-trofeo-hud/blob/main/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, not`trcc`

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/tokens**—`npx ccusage`

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

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