Terminal Title

Overview

Sets a descriptive terminal window title based on the task Claude is working on. Essential for developers running multiple Claude Code instances who need to identify which terminal handles which task.

When to Use

Always trigger this skill:

• At the start of every new Claude Code or Codex session (after receiving the first user prompt)
• When switching to a substantially different task (for example from "API Integration" to "Database Migration")

Trigger on task switches like these:

• Switching from frontend work to backend work
• Moving from debugging to new feature development
• Changing from one module or component to a completely different one
• Starting work on a different part of the system (for example from auth to payments)

Do NOT trigger for:

• Follow-up questions about the same task ("Can you add a comment to that function?")
• Small refinements to current work ("Make it blue instead of red")
• Debugging the same feature you just built
• Clarifications ("What did you mean by X?")
• Iterating on the same component or module
• Mid-task status updates or progress checks

How It Works

1. 1Extract task summary: identify the high-level task from the user's prompt
2. 2Generate title: create a concise, descriptive title (max 40 characters)
3. 3Set title: run set_title.sh (macOS / Linux) or set_title.ps1 (native Windows) with the generated title
4. 4No confirmation needed: this happens silently in the background

Title Format Guidelines

Good titles:

• "API Integration: Auth Flow"
• "Fix: Login Bug"
• "DB Migration: Users Table"
• "Build: Dashboard UI"
• "Refactor: Payment Module"

Displayed as (the script adds the folder prefix):

• my-project | API Integration: Auth Flow
• my-project | Fix: Login Bug

Bad titles:

• Too long: "Implementing the new authentication system with OAuth2.0 support"
• Too generic: "Working" or "Coding"
• Too verbose: "The user wants me to help them with..."
• Includes system information: "/Users/john/project: Build feature"
• A full sentence: "I am working on the dashboard component"

Format pattern:

[Action/Category]: [Specific Focus]

Keep titles concise, actionable, and immediately recognizable.

Implementation

Pick the script for the host OS. If unsure, the working directory's path style is a reliable hint: /home/... or /Users/... means macOS / Linux (including WSL), while C:\... or D:\... means native Windows.

macOS / Linux / WSL

Run the script from the installed skill directory. The personal install path is shown; for a project install use .claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.sh relative to the project root.

bash ~/.claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.sh "Your Title Here"

Example workflow:

# User asks: "Help me debug the authentication flow in the API"
bash ~/.claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.sh "Debug: Auth API Flow"

# User asks: "Create a React component for the user profile page"
bash ~/.claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.sh "Build: User Profile UI"

# User asks: "Write tests for the payment processing module"
bash ~/.claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.sh "Test: Payment Module"

Native Windows

Do not use set_title.sh on native Windows: the Bash tool strips the escape sequence before it reaches the terminal, so nothing changes. Run the PowerShell script instead. From the Bash tool (Git Bash), use this command; -ExecutionPolicy Bypass applies to this one call only, so it works under the default Restricted policy:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.ps1" "Your Title Here"

From a PowerShell tool, the equivalent is (if the execution policy blocks it, use the powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File form with $env:USERPROFILE):

& "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\terminal-title\scripts\set_title.ps1" "Your Title Here"

For a project install, use .claude/skills/terminal-title/scripts/set_title.ps1 relative to the project root. Codex installs the skill under ~/.agents/skills or ~/.codex/skills; substitute that root for ~/.claude/skills.

Script Details

scripts/set_title.sh writes the OSC 0 escape sequence to the controlling terminal (/dev/tty), falling back to stdout when no terminal is attached. It also stores the title in ~/.claude/terminal_title so shell hooks can re-apply it after each prompt. It is compatible with macOS Terminal.app, iTerm2, Alacritty, Kitty, and most xterm-compatible emulators (including tmux and screen).

scripts/set_title.ps1 is the Windows counterpart. It sets the title through [Console]::Title (the Win32 SetConsoleTitle API) on the inherited console, so no escape sequence has to pass through stdout. It works in Windows Terminal and the classic console host, with Windows PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7, and writes the same ~/.claude/terminal_title file.

Both scripts take one argument (the title) and exit silently when none is given.

Automatic Directory Prefix

Every title is prefixed with the current directory name (usually the repo name):

my-project | Build: Dashboard UI
another-repo | Debug: Auth API

Optional Custom Prefix

Users can add a custom prefix through the CLAUDE_TITLE_PREFIX environment variable (or CODEX_TITLE_PREFIX, which wins when both are set):

export CLAUDE_TITLE_PREFIX="Claude"

$env:CLAUDE_TITLE_PREFIX = "Claude"

This produces titles like Claude | my-project | Build: Dashboard UI.

Note: You do not need to check these variables or change your behaviour. The script handles them.

Deterministic Alternative

hooks/set-title-hook.sh in this skill directory (or scripts/set_title.ps1 on native Windows, which reads the hook JSON from stdin when called without an argument) can be wired as a Claude Code UserPromptSubmit hook. It sets the title from the first line of every prompt without relying on this skill being invoked. See the project README for the settings snippet.