Argus: A VS Code Extension to Debug Claude Code Session Costs and Behavior
Claude Code session costs can spike without obvious reasons—retry loops, repeated file reads, or context filling up before compaction. The JSONL files at ~/.claude/projects/ contain all the data, but raw inspection is painful. A developer built Argus, a VS Code extension that parses those transcripts and lays the session out as a timeline with granular metrics.
Key Features
- Timeline view of every tool call: Read, Write, Edit, and subagent calls.
- Per-step token and USD cost breakdown.
- Cache hit ratio for each step.
- Subagent attribution—see which subagent did what.
- Rule-based flagging for duplicate reads, retry loops, and context pressure.
- Cost breakdown tab and dependency graph of file operations.
- Context window usage visualization.
How It Works
Argus runs entirely locally—no login, no upload. It reads the JSONL files that Claude Code already writes, so no extra setup is needed. The developer built it originally for personal use after noticing unpredictable cost spikes across sessions.
Who It's For
Developers using Claude Code in agent mode who want to understand exactly what their agent did and why costs vary across sessions.
📖 Read the full source: r/ClaudeAI
👀 See Also
Wrangle: A Native macOS Editor for Managing Claude Code Sessions
Wrangle is a native macOS markdown editor built specifically for managing multiple Claude Code sessions, featuring embedded terminals and smart notifications. The developer created it after VS Code couldn't keep up with their daily workflow of running many Claude Code sessions.
OpenClaw Context Meter Plugin Shows Telegram Token Usage Percentage
A new OpenClaw plugin displays token usage percentage after every Telegram bot response, showing values like '45k / 200k (22%)' and detecting compaction events. The plugin avoids OOM issues by hardcoding context windows instead of using execSync.
llm-idle-timeout Fires at 2 Minutes on N100/WSL2 Despite timeoutSeconds Setting
A user reports that the idle watchdog in OpenClaw fires after 2 minutes on N100/WSL2 hardware, ignoring the timeoutSeconds=300 setting, due to slow gateway startup (45+ seconds) and no configurable noOutputTimeoutMs.
Upfront: A Claude Code Plugin That Forces Thinking Before Coding
Upfront is a Claude Code plugin with 20 skills that challenges developers before generating code. It uses three commands: /upfront:feature to push back on vague requirements, /upfront:plan to break work into ~400 LOC phases, and /upfront:build to execute with TDD and review per phase.