Showing Your Agent's Status on Stream Without an Overlay

Status Light costs $45 and presents three domed indicators in a vertical red, amber and green arrangement on a matte-black body. It could become an in-camera Claude Code signal only after its control interface is verified. The catalogue does not confirm power, connection, programmability or an API.

Why show agent status physically instead of an overlay?

A physical object can appear in the camera view without adding a browser or text source to the layout. It also remains visible to the person at the desk. However, it disappears whenever the camera is hidden, cropped or replaced by a scene that does not include it.

An overlay is more precise, easier to label and can be designed for accessibility. Hardware is a visual choice, not a technical upgrade by default.

Where does a status light sit in frame?

Place it where the host can see it, the camera can distinguish its positions and glare does not dominate the image. Use a cardboard stand-in before buying, then inspect local recordings under the actual lighting and scene crops.

Keep it away from private screens, drinks and unstable cable routes. Colour needs a label or positional explanation for viewers who cannot distinguish it.

How do you drive the three lenses from your tools?

Claude Code currently documents Notification hooks for states including permission and idle prompts. The Stop event runs on response completion, while an API-ended turn invokes StopFailure. A handler may translate one documented event into a supported device call, but no such call is confirmed for this light.

Never scrape arbitrary terminal prose. Define unknown, stale and manual-off states, and keep the Claude Code session authoritative.

What are the limits versus a proper overlay?

Three lenses cannot show task name, elapsed context, exact prompt or which of several sessions needs review. Green must not mean tests passed or work is correct unless an independent verified source proves that result. An overlay can carry text, timestamps and explicit ownership.

The Status Light is an ambient prop after hardware verification, not a complete agent dashboard. Build and test the event-to-screen prototype first, then add the physical device only when its reduced vocabulary improves the stream. Rehearse event sequences offline: permission prompt, normal response, API failure, user interruption and stale session. The light should never show a reassuring state after its adapter crashes. Log only event type, time and local session identifier unless the stream truly needs more. Keep project names, prompts and file paths out of the camera signal and any public automation log. Walk away from the hardware plan if the interface remains undocumented; an on-screen colour block can validate the event model without electrical guesswork.