Claude Code notifications on Mac

Why you miss it

Claude Code often stops to ask for permission before it runs a command or edits a file. If you work in another window, you do not see the question. The session waits until you come back to the terminal.

With two or three sessions in different tabs, this happens a lot. One session is done, one waits for you, and you check each tab to find out.

The free way: two hooks

Claude Code runs hooks, which are shell commands, at fixed points. Two of them are useful here:

• Notification runs when Claude Code needs your permission or waits for your input.
• Stop runs when Claude Code finishes its reply.

Open ~/.claude/settings.json and add this. If the file already has a "hooks" section, add the two entries to it.

{
  "hooks": {
    "Notification": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "osascript -e 'display notification \"Claude Code needs you\" with title \"Claude Code\"'"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "Stop": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "osascript -e 'display notification \"Claude Code is done\" with title \"Claude Code\"'"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Start a new Claude Code session to load the hooks. The first time, macOS can ask you to allow notifications from Script Editor. The osascript command sends the notification in its name.

If you want a sound and no banner, use this command:

"command": "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Glass.aiff"

What the free way cannot do

• The notification does not tell you which session it is. With several sessions, all of them look the same.
• You cannot answer from the notification. You still find the right terminal tab and answer there.
• A click on the notification opens Script Editor, not your terminal.
• Stop runs at the end of every reply, also the short ones.

For one session at a time, the two hooks are enough.

With Vibeclove

Vibeclove adds its own hooks when you connect Claude Code. It keeps your hooks and saves a backup of your settings first. Then each session shows in the MacBook notch:

• The notch shows a spinner while the agent works, a check when it is done, and an orange hand when it waits for you.
• You can allow or deny a request, answer a question, or review a plan in the notch.
• A click on a session opens its tab in Terminal, iTerm2, Ghostty, tmux or cmux.
• The notch also shows your Claude 5-hour and weekly usage limits.

Codex, Devin and OpenCode work the same way. Gemini CLI and Copilot CLI show when they wait for you, and you answer in the terminal. For Cursor and Amp, the notch shows status only.

Download Vibeclove. It is free for 5 days, then $9.99 once. It needs macOS 26 or later.