explaingit

reshadat/claude-glow

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

7PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Turns a Tuya or Halonix WiFi smart bulb into an ambient status light that shows what Claude Code is doing, controlled entirely over your local network.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((claude-glow))
    What it does
      Bulb color shows Claude state
      Idle thinking waiting error
      100 percent local LAN
      No LLM in control loop
    Tech stack
      Python
      tinytuya
      Claude Code hooks
    Use cases
      See AI status without watching terminal
      Get a visual alert when Claude needs input
      Ambient office or desk indicator
    Audience
      Claude Code users
      Home automation hobbyists
    Setup
      Extract Tuya device local key
      Run setup script
      Wire hooks into settings.json

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Get an ambient visual signal when Claude Code needs your attention.

USE CASE 2

See at a glance whether Claude is idle, running a tool, or waiting on you without checking the terminal.

USE CASE 3

Control a Tuya or Halonix smart bulb locally over WiFi without relying on the cloud.

What is it built with?

PythontinytuyaTuya API

How does it compare?

reshadat/claude-glowalx-code/lingbot-video-1.3b-fp8andrevicencio/tmux-flash
Stars777
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultymoderateeasy
Complexity3/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a Tuya-compatible smart bulb and extracting its local_key via a free Tuya developer account.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

This project turns a smart light bulb into a status indicator for Claude Code, the AI coding tool. Instead of watching a terminal window to know what the AI assistant is doing, a WiFi smart bulb in your room changes color: green and dim while it is idle, amber while a tool is about to run, blue when a tool finishes, and red with a pulsing flash when it needs your attention. Everything is deterministic: a small hook built into Claude Code fires, a short Python script runs, and that script sends a single command to the bulb over your home network. There is no AI model involved in deciding what color to show, and after initial setup nothing goes through the cloud. The bulbs supported are Tuya-based WiFi bulbs, which includes many white-label brands such as Halonix and ones sold through the Smart Life app. These bulbs normally rely on Tuya's cloud service, but once you extract a per-device secret code, you can talk to the bulb directly over your local network instead, which is faster, more private, and keeps working even if Tuya's servers are down. Getting that secret code involves creating a free developer account on Tuya's site, linking it to the app your bulb is paired with, and running a setup wizard that scans your network and writes out the needed device details. Installation uses a setup script that creates an isolated Python environment and installs the required packages into it. Once configured, a command line tool lets you test each color state individually or cycle through all of them. If the configuration is missing or the bulb cannot be reached, the tool logs a message and exits quietly rather than crashing whatever called it. To connect it to Claude Code, you add a small set of hook entries into Claude Code's settings file, mapping each stage of a coding session, such as a tool starting, a tool finishing, or the assistant needing input, to the matching light command. The README also includes a troubleshooting section covering issues like wrong bulb protocol versions, stale IP addresses, and bulbs that silently do nothing because another app is holding their connection. The project is released under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me extract the device_id and local_key for my Halonix bulb using the tinytuya wizard.
Prompt 2
Walk me through wiring claude-glow's hooks into my Claude Code settings.json.
Prompt 3
Explain how to change the colors and brightness for each state in config.json.
Prompt 4
Help me troubleshoot why my Tuya bulb isn't responding to claude-glow commands.

Frequently asked questions

What is claude-glow?

Turns a Tuya or Halonix WiFi smart bulb into an ambient status light that shows what Claude Code is doing, controlled entirely over your local network.

What language is claude-glow written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, tinytuya, Tuya API.

What license does claude-glow use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is claude-glow to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is claude-glow for?

Mainly developer.

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