Menu bar app

The menu bar app runs on macOS 14 or later. The app on Windows has its own page. The app calls the same core as the command line, not pitboard, so both see the same accounts, parked logins and log. While any of its windows is open, Pitboard also has a Dock icon, a place in the Command-Tab switcher and its own menus. Its windows are the Pitboard window, Settings, each account’s window and the Open Link window. The first time the app runs, it opens the Pitboard window. Strings here are those the app shows while one tool has accounts. Accounts of several tools lists those that change once more tools do. Pitboard’s item in the menu bar shows the Pitboard mark, the account in use and how much of one limit it has used, such as work 42%. Menu bar shows can leave out the label, or the label and the percentage.

Part	Rule
Label	The label of the account in use, or unnamed when it is not enrolled. Past 12 characters, it is cut to 11 and an ellipsis.
Percentage	The fullest limit, as a whole percentage. A limit for one model counts only when there is no other. When Anthropic marks some limits active, only those count.
Which account, with several tools	The enrolled account in use closest to running out. An account with no reading counts as the least used, and a Claude Desktop account never has one.
A tie between tools	Goes to the tool listed first: Claude Code, then Codex, then Claude Desktop.

Before the first read, and while no tool is signed in, the item shows the symbol alone. Until the account has a reading, it shows the label alone. Clicking Pitboard’s item opens its menu: what needs attention, then the accounts, then the commands. What needs attention, in this order:

Item	Line under it	Shown when	Choosing it
Claude Code isn’t installed	Learn how to install it	The app found none of `claude`, `codex` and Claude’s data folder, and no tool has a login or an account.	Opens Claude Code’s setup page.
Switch to personal	The notice’s title	The account in use ran out of a limit, and `personal` has room.	Switches to `personal`.
Finish Adding	Adding a Claude Desktop account isn’t finished	An add of a Claude Desktop account was left halfway.	Opens Add Account, set to Claude Desktop, with the name the add started with.
Finish Signing In	Signing in to home again isn’t finished	A sign-in again to the Claude Desktop account `home` was left halfway.	Opens Sign In to home Again.
Put work Back	The same line as the item before it	An add or a sign-in again to Claude Desktop was left halfway with `work` parked for it.	Switches back to `work`.
The notice’s title, such as Couldn’t read usage, or 2 things to look at for several	Show in Pitboard, or the first notice’s title	The Accounts pane has a notice with an orange or red symbol and no switch button.	Opens the Accounts pane.
Install Pitboard 0.10.1	None	A copy from a release found an update.	Opens the update window.

A check mark shows the account in use in each tool. An account shows its label, its email address while it has none, or Login Pitboard can’t use. Where its login says a plan, the plan follows, as in work · Max 20x. Account status explains the line under it. Instead of accounts, the menu can show:

Text	Shown when
Reading accounts	The first read has not finished.
No accounts yet	No tool is signed in and no account is enrolled.
No accounts to show	Reading failed, with nothing earlier to show.

Choosing an account:

Choosing	Does
An account you can switch to	Switches to it.
An account marked Needs signing in again	Opens Sign In to work Again. Dimmed while a sign-in runs.
The account in use, marked Not named yet	Opens Name This Account.
The account in use, when enrolled, or Login Pitboard can’t use	Nothing.

While a switch runs, Switch to personal, Finish Adding, Finish Signing In, Put work Back and every account but the one in use are dimmed. The commands, in this order:

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Add Account	Command-N	Opens Add Account.
Refresh	Command-R	Reads every account’s usage again, even one read moments ago. Dimmed during a read.
Open claude.ai as work	None	Opens the window of `work`, the only Claude Code account. With several, Open claude.ai has a submenu.
Open chatgpt.com as main	None	The same, for Codex accounts.
Open Pitboard	Command-0	Opens the Pitboard window.
Settings	Command-Comma	Opens Settings.
Check for Updates	None	Opens the update window. Only in a copy from a release.
About Pitboard	None	Shows the app’s version.
Pitboard Help	None	Opens this site.
Quit Pitboard	Command-Q	Quits the app.

The line under Refresh:

Line	Means
Updated 20:52	When the last read finished, with the weekday on another day.
Reading	A read is running.
Not read yet	No read has finished since the app opened or your last change.
Showing the last numbers measured	The same, after a failed read.

Window

The Pitboard window’s sidebar holds three panes: Accounts, Activity and This Mac. It opens on the pane you last showed.

Accounts pane

The Accounts pane lists notices, then at most one setup tip, then the accounts by tool. The window’s subtitle reads Updated 20:52, or Reading during a read. The toolbar has Refresh and Add Account. Instead of the list, the pane can show:

Shows	When	Button
Claude Code Isn’t Installed	Same as the menu’s Claude Code isn’t installed.	How to Install Claude Code
Couldn’t Read Accounts and the reason	A read failed, with no account to list.	Try Again, dimmed during a read
No Accounts	No tool is signed in and no account is enrolled.	Add Account
Reading accounts	The first read has not finished.	None

Setup tip	Shown when	Buttons
Give this account a name	A tool is signed in to an account Pitboard has not enrolled.	Name, which opens Name This Account
Add a second account	Claude Code’s or Codex’s only enrolled account is the one in use.	Add Account, set to that tool. Not Now stops the tip for that tool.
Add a second Claude Desktop account	Claude Desktop’s only enrolled account is the one in use.	Add Account, set to Claude Desktop. Not Now stops the tip for it.

Part of a row	Shows
Name	A symbol, the label and the email address, or the email address alone while there is no label. Where its login says a plan, a tag beside the name says it, such as Max 20x.
Right side	In Use, a progress indicator while a switch to it runs, or a button: Use or Sign In Again.
A line per limit	Its short name, such as 5h or week, a bar, the percentage, when it resets, as resets in 2h 10m, and its pace, as 27% over pace.
Notes	In order: why it cannot be used, why its numbers are old or when Pitboard last read it, which limit runs out first, how long its parked login lasts, and where its warm-up stands while it is turned on. The third shows only on the account in use.

A bar’s tooltip says what an even pace would have used so far. Account status explains each part. Notices, most pressing first:

Notice	Shown when	Buttons
An interrupted switch is waiting	A switch stopped partway, and Pitboard cannot yet tell whether it finished. Where a Claude Desktop move was interrupted too, a line says so, and this notice stands in for An interrupted move is waiting.	Give Up, which asks first
Couldn’t read usage	The last read failed, for the reason under the title.	None
work has no 5-hour limit left	The account in use ran out of a limit, and another account of its tool has room.	Switch to personal
Switched to work	The app finished a switch, asked for or automatic, or a sign-in inside Claude put another account in use.	Dismiss (an x)
work has a new login	A sign-in in the app gave the account in use a new login.	Dismiss (an x)
Adding a Claude Desktop account isn’t finished	An add inside Claude was left halfway with `work` parked for it. It stays across relaunches, and hides while the app’s own dialog waits for that sign-in.	Finish Adding, Put work Back
Signing in to home again isn’t finished	The same, for a sign-in again to `home`.	Finish Signing In, Put work Back
Claude Code’s config names another account	The config names another account than the one whose login Claude Code has stored.	Update Claude Code’s Config, while the account in use is enrolled. It writes that account into the config and moves no login. It fails if another login is stored by then.
A login file is left behind the keychain	`~/.claude/.credentials.json` sits behind the keychain.	Put Away. None when Pitboard cannot read the file.
An interrupted move is waiting	A Claude Desktop move was interrupted, and its record waits.	Add the Account Claude Shows, and Give Up once a Claude Desktop change from the app could not settle the move. Give Up asks first.
The account in use is not confirmed, on a Claude Desktop account	Claude’s settings have named another account, or nobody, since Pitboard last read Claude.	Add the Account Claude Shows
Another warning’s title, such as A parked login was refused	A read or a change warned. Warning codes lists each title.	None
Gave up on the interrupted switch	You gave up on it.	Dismiss (an x)
Gave up on the interrupted move	You gave up on a Claude Desktop move. Its lines say what was kept and what to do next.	Dismiss (an x)
Put away the login left in a file	Put Away finished. Its lines say what became of the login and the file’s other keys.	Dismiss (an x)

What Switched to work says under its title depends on the tool:

Tool	Under the title
Claude Code	A countdown to when open sessions follow.
Codex	That sessions started before the switch keep the old account until they restart.
Claude Desktop	Claude opens signed in to it. After a sign-in inside Claude, what the sign-in did, such as Added travel, the account Claude is signed in to now.

Activity pane

The Activity pane lists the last 500 changes in Pitboard’s log, newest first, from the app and the command line. With nothing logged, it shows No Activity.

Column	Shows
Date	When, in your Mac’s date and time format.
Change	The verb `pitboard log` records, named as in the next table.
Account	The subject the log records, such as `codex/work` or `wrong -> right`.
Result	Done, or the outcome’s code in words, such as Parked login expired for `parked_login_expired`.
Asked By	Pitboard app, Command line, or Unknown for a change logged before Pitboard recorded who asked.

Change	Verb
Switch	`use`
Automatic switch	`auto-switch`
Automatic switch not made	`auto-stay`
Enrol	`enroll`
Login in use changed	`in-use`
Put away a login left in a file	`stow`
Give up on a switch	`abandon`
Park for a sign-in	`park`
Warm-up	`warm-up`
Warm-up turned on, Warm-up turned off	`warm-on`, `warm-off`
Warm-up hours changed	`warm-range`

Any other verb starts with a capital letter, as rename reads Rename.

This Mac pane

The This Mac pane runs the checks of pitboard doctor each time you show it. It shows Checking this Mac until the first ones finish. Over them, doctor’s summary line, such as One thing is worth looking at., sits beside Checked at 14:05. Each check shows a green, orange or red symbol, its name, what it found and, when it did not pass, what to do. Check Again runs them again.

Account actions

Control-clicking an account in the Accounts pane opens its shortcut menu. For work, it lists, in order:

Item	Shown for	What it does
Use work	An account you can switch to, while no switch runs	Switches to it.
Name	The account in use, when it is not enrolled	Opens Name This Account.
Sign In Again	Every enrolled account, the one in use too	Opens Sign In to work Again. Dimmed while a sign-in runs.
Rename	Every enrolled account	Opens Rename “work”.
Warm Up Now	Every enrolled Claude Code account	Warms it up. Dimmed while its five-hour period runs, while it is held back, while a warm-up runs and while nothing can be warmed up here.
Warm Up Automatically	Every enrolled Claude Code account	Turns its warm-up on or off. Checked while it is on.
Open claude.ai or Open chatgpt.com	Every enrolled Claude Code or Codex account	Opens the account’s window.
Copy Email Address	Every account with an email address	Copies it.
Forget	An enrolled account not in use	Asks, then forgets the account.

Dialogs and alerts

Dialogs open over the Pitboard window’s Accounts pane.

Dialog	Opened by	Holds
Add Account	Add Account in a menu, the toolbar or a tip, Finish Adding, or Add the Account Claude Shows on a notice	A Tool pop-up menu, a Name field and the tool’s button: see Browser sign-in and Claude Desktop sign-in. For a tool Pitboard cannot find, a note such as Pitboard can’t find the Codex CLI on this Mac. with a link to install it, and the button dimmed.
Sign In to work Again	Sign In Again, an account marked Needs signing in again in the menu, or Finish Signing In	The account’s label and the tool’s button.
Name This Account	Name, or an account marked Not named yet in the menu	A Name field and Save.
Rename “work”	Rename	A Name field holding the label, and Rename.
Put Away the Login Left in a File	Put Away on its notice	Finding out whose login it is, then what the file holds and what putting it away does, as `pitboard stow` says it. Put Away is dimmed for a login of an account not enrolled, and when nothing is left.

Add Account offers every tool Pitboard handles on this Mac and starts on the first it finds. Under a Name field, a line says why what you entered cannot be a name, and the dialog’s button stays dimmed:

Entered	Line
A space	A name is one word, with no spaces.
`/`, as in `codex/work`	A name can’t contain ”/”. Choose the tool above. In Name This Account and Rename, A name can’t contain ”/”.

A failure in a dialog goes once you change the name or the tool.

Tool	Found by
Claude Code	`claude`
Codex	`codex`
Claude Desktop	Claude’s data folder

If an action fails, its dialog stays open with what you entered and says why under one of these titles:

Couldn’t sign in to work
Couldn’t add travel, where recording the account Claude shows failed
Couldn’t name this account
Couldn’t rename work
Couldn’t tell whose login it is
Couldn’t put the login away. The dialog then reads the file again.

Claude Code and Codex sign in through your browser. In Add Account and Sign In to work Again, their button is Sign In. It turns the dialog into Signing In to Claude Code or Signing In to Codex, which shows:

Part	Shown
A spinner beside the buttons	Until the tool says you are in.
Copy Link and Open, beside Sign-In Page	Always, dimmed until the tool gives the page’s address. Copy Link copies it for another browser or browser profile.
A Code field and Submit Code	Once Claude Code asks for a code.
Cancel	Always. It stops the sign-in.

If Claude Code refuses a code, the dialog says Claude Code didn’t take that code. Copy the whole code your browser shows, and paste it again. and shows the Code field again. Claude Desktop signs in inside Claude, and no browser opens. In Add Account and Sign In to home Again, its button follows what Pitboard last read:

Button	Shown when	What it does
Add Account	No Claude Desktop account is enrolled.	Records the account Claude is signed in to under the name.
Park work	`work` is in use, whichever account the dialog is for.	Parks `work`, which leaves Claude signed out, then waits for a sign-in inside Claude.
Start Sign-In	Claude is signed out.	Waits for a sign-in inside Claude.
Add the Account Claude Shows	In Add Account, while an add waits or Pitboard cannot identify the login Claude holds.	Records the account Claude is signed in to under the name.
Record as home	In Sign In to home Again, in the same cases.	Records the account Claude is signed in to as `home`’s login.

While Pitboard quits Claude to record its account, then reads it, the dialog says Quitting Claude, then Reading Claude’s account, under its fields. Tool, Name and Cancel are dimmed meanwhile, and while Pitboard asks to quit Claude. While Pitboard waits for a sign-in inside Claude, the dialog keeps its title and shows a spinner beside its buttons. Its message says what Pitboard is doing, quitting Claude or parking work, then what to do in Claude. Its buttons:

Button	Shown when	What it does
Put work Back	`work` is parked for this sign-in. Dimmed while a switch runs.	Stops waiting and switches back to `work`. If Claude is open, Pitboard asks to quit it first.
Later	`work` is parked for this sign-in.	Stops waiting and closes the dialog. `work` stays parked, and the notice Adding a Claude Desktop account isn’t finished or Signing in to home again isn’t finished says so.
Cancel	Otherwise. Dimmed while Pitboard quits Claude.	Stops waiting.

Once Claude quits signed in, Pitboard records the account, closes the dialog and says what it did in a notice, such as Switched to travel. It does not open Claude again.

Quitting Claude or the ChatGPT app

Pitboard asks before it quits Claude or the ChatGPT app. Cancel changes nothing.

Question	Asked before	Says	Button
Quit ChatGPT to switch?	A switch to a Codex account while the ChatGPT app is open	ChatGPT keeps using the account it started with until it quits. Pitboard quits it, switches, and opens it again.	Quit ChatGPT and Switch
Quit Claude to switch?	A switch to a Claude Desktop account while Claude is open	Pitboard moves Claude’s login only while Claude is closed. It quits Claude, switches to home, and opens it again.	Quit Claude and Switch
Quit Claude to add an account?, or Quit Claude to sign in to home again?	Park work while Claude is open	Pitboard parks work only while Claude is closed. It quits Claude, parks work, and opens Claude again for you to sign in.	Quit Claude and Park work
The same titles	Start Sign-In while Claude is open	Pitboard starts waiting for a sign-in only while Claude is closed. It quits Claude and opens it again for you to sign in.	Quit Claude and Start Sign-In
Quit Claude to add travel?	Add Account or Add the Account Claude Shows while Claude is open	Pitboard reads which account Claude is signed in to only while Claude is closed. It quits Claude, records that account as travel, and opens it again.	Quit Claude and Add
Quit Claude to record home?	Record as home while Claude is open	Pitboard reads which account Claude is signed in to only while Claude is closed. It quits Claude, records that account as home’s login, and opens it again.	Quit Claude and Record

Pitboard asks Claude or the ChatGPT app to quit as Command-Q does, then waits up to 30 seconds:

Claude or the ChatGPT app	Pitboard	Then says
Has not quit	Changes nothing.	Claude is still open, so nothing has changed., then what to do
Quit, and part of it still runs	Changes nothing, and opens it again.	Part of Claude is still running after it quit, so nothing has changed., then what to do

For the ChatGPT app, the same strings name ChatGPT.

Alerts

Alert	Opened by	Says	Buttons
Forget “work”?	Forget, or Delete on a selected row	What forgetting deletes, as the next table gives it	Forget, Cancel
Give up on the interrupted switch?	Give Up on An interrupted switch is waiting	Every login is kept, and nothing is deleted. Pitboard stops trying to finish it.	Give Up, Cancel
The same	The same, with a Claude Desktop move waiting too	Every login is kept, and nothing is deleted. Pitboard stops trying to finish it and, with Claude quit, settles or gives up the interrupted Claude Desktop move too.	Give Up, Cancel
Give up on the interrupted move?	Give Up on An interrupted move is waiting	Every folder is kept and nothing is deleted. Whatever is in Claude’s folder stays there.	Give Up, Cancel
Replace Claude Code’s Login?	A switch to an account while Anthropic refuses for good the login Claude Code has in use	Why, ending so putting another login in its place loses nothing.	Replace, which puts the account’s login in its place, Cancel
Couldn’t switch to work, Couldn’t forget work, Couldn’t give up on the interrupted switch or Couldn’t update Claude Code’s config	That action failed, wherever it started	The reason, then any warnings	OK

Account	Forget “work”? says
Claude Code	Pitboard deletes the login it parked for this account, and everything its claude.ai window keeps on this Mac, its sign-in included. Using it again needs a sign-in in your browser.
Codex	The same, naming its chatgpt.com window.
Claude Desktop	Pitboard deletes the login it parked for this account and the folders set aside for it. Using it again needs a sign-in in Claude.

A failure alert opens the Pitboard window. While a dialog is up, alerts show over it. Account windows’ alerts are in Account windows and shared links.

App menus

Menu	Item	Shortcut	What it does
File	Add Account	Command-N	Opens Add Account.
File	Open claude.ai as work, Open chatgpt.com as main, or a submenu for a site with several accounts	None	Opens that account’s window.
File	Remove Website Data	None	Asks, then removes the website data of the account window in front. Dimmed unless one is in front.
Edit > Find	Find, Find Next, Find Previous, Use Selection for Find	Command-F, Command-G, Shift-Command-G, Command-E	Finds text in the page of the account window in front.
View	Refresh, Check Again or Reload Page	Command-R	The button of the window in front: Check Again in This Mac, Reload Page in an account’s window, Refresh in the other panes. Dimmed elsewhere, and while it runs.
View	Actual Size, Zoom In, Zoom Out	Command-0, Command-Plus, Command-Minus	Zooms the page in the account window in front.
Go	Back, Forward	Command-Left Bracket, Command-Right Bracket	Shows the previous or next page in the account window in front.
Help	Pitboard Help	None	Opens this site.

The Dock icon’s menu lists the items that open account windows, as the File menu does, then Open Pitboard. macOS adds the open windows. Opening Pitboard from Finder or Spotlight with no window open opens the Pitboard window.

Notifications

Title	Posted	Body	Button
work has no 5-hour limit left	When the account in use runs out of a limit and another account of its tool has room, as When an account runs out says. Once for each limit and reset, even across restarts.	personal has 58% of its own left., or seat has no such limit. for an account without that limit	Switch, which switches to `personal`
Switched Claude Code to personal	After each switch the app makes by itself.	work had used 96% of its 5-hour limit. Sessions already running follow within 33 seconds.	None
Claude Code was not switched	When a limit of the account in use reaches the share in Switch when a limit reaches, and Pitboard holds back. Once for each limit, reset and reason.	work has used 96% of its 5-hour limit., then a reason from When it stays on the account	None
Pitboard is not switching Claude Code	When Pitboard cannot decide whether to switch. Once for each reason and what it names.	A reason from When it decides nothing	None
Pitboard could not switch Claude Code	When an automatic switch fails. Once for each kind of error.	The error	None
Pitboard could not warm up an account	When a warm-up the app made by itself came to nothing. Once for each error until a warm-up starts a period.	The error	None
A login was replaced outside Pitboard	When a read finds that an account’s only login ended outside Pitboard. A sign-in such as `/login` in Claude Code replaced it, or the account was signed out in Claude. Once for each account while reads find it, and once more after the app reopens.	The warning’s message, which says what ended the login and how to sign in again, as the next table gives it	None

It ends with Choose Sign In Again… on its row., whether a sign-in replaced the login or the account was signed out in Claude. While a login file sits behind the keychain, the second sentence of Switched Claude Code to personal reads Sessions already running keep the account they are on until their login is next renewed, or until they are started again: and names the file. The three that hold back or fail come only while Switch Claude Code automatically is on. They can come again after the app next switches. A notification starts its reason with a capital letter and ends it with a full stop. Only the run-out notification can have a subtitle. Clicking a notification itself does nothing. Notifications play no sound and set no badge. macOS asks whether to allow them the first time the app posts one.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keys that no menu shows:

Keys	Where	What it does
Return, or double-click	A row in the Accounts pane	What the row’s button does. On the account in use when it is not enrolled, opens Name This Account.
Delete	A row in the Accounts pane	Forget, after asking
Return	A dialog	Its default button: Sign In, Submit Code, Save, Rename, Put Away or a button from Claude Desktop sign-in
Escape	A dialog	Cancel
Escape	A dialog waiting for a sign-in inside Claude, before the wait starts or with an account parked for it	Nothing

Accounts of several tools

Once more than one tool has accounts, these strings name the tool:

Where	One tool	Several tools
Menu and Accounts pane	One list of accounts	A heading for each tool: Claude Code, then Codex, then Claude Desktop
Run-out notice	work has no 5-hour limit left	Claude Code: work has no 5-hour limit left
Run-out notification	No subtitle	The subtitle Claude Code or Codex
Switch notice	Switched to work	Switched Codex to work
Its countdown	Sessions already open follow in	Claude Code sessions already open follow in
New-login notice	work has a new login	work in Codex has a new login
Second-account tip	Add a second account	Add a second Codex account
Forget alert	Forget “work”?	Forget “work (Codex)”?

Get started

Install and remove

Use Pitboard

Troubleshooting

How it works

Reference

Menu bar item

Menu

Window

Accounts pane

Activity pane

This Mac pane

Account actions

Dialogs and alerts

Quitting Claude or the ChatGPT app

Alerts

App menus

Dock menu

Notifications

Keyboard shortcuts

Accounts of several tools

​Menu bar item

​Menu

​Window

​Accounts pane

​Activity pane

​This Mac pane

​Account actions

​Dialogs and alerts

​Browser sign-in

​Claude Desktop sign-in

​Quitting Claude or the ChatGPT app

​Alerts

​App menus

​Dock menu

​Notifications

​Keyboard shortcuts

​Accounts of several tools

Menu bar item

Menu

Window

Accounts pane

Activity pane

This Mac pane

Account actions

Dialogs and alerts

Browser sign-in

Claude Desktop sign-in

Quitting Claude or the ChatGPT app

Alerts

App menus

Dock menu

Notifications

Keyboard shortcuts

Accounts of several tools