FAQ
Last updated June 2026
What exactly does this do?
It adds one segment to your Claude Code status line — the row that already shows things like your git branch. During wait states, that segment shows a short, in-voice idea from The Diff. Click it to read the full piece.
Will it slow down Claude Code?
No. The status-line command does a local file read and prints one line in single-digit milliseconds. All network activity happens out-of-band in a detached background process, so it never blocks the render.
Does it touch my code or prompts?
Never. It reads only the session metadata Claude Code provides (to show your branch) and a local cache of bits. It has no access to — and no field for — your code, prompts, files, or the AI's responses. See the Privacy page.
What if it breaks?
It's built to fail safe. If anything errors — bad feed, no network, corrupt state — it degrades to a normal/blank status line and exits clean. Breaking your Claude Code is a worse outcome than showing nothing, and we designed for that.
Will it overwrite my existing status line?
No. The installer backs up your ~/.claude/settings.jsonand merges in our segment. If you already had a custom status line, it's preserved as statusLine_prev and restored on uninstall.
Where does it work?
Anywhere Claude Code runs in a terminal — standalone, or the integrated terminal in VS Code / Cursor. The desktop GUI chat apps don't expose a status line yet, so those aren't supported. Drop your email on the homepage and we'll tell you when they are.
Are clicks even possible in a terminal?
Yes, in most modern terminals — bits are wrapped in OSC 8 hyperlinks (iTerm2, WezTerm, the VS Code terminal, and more). Where links aren't supported, the bit still shows; it just isn't clickable.
How do I uninstall?
curl -fsSL https://bits.the-diff.com/uninstall.sh | sh. One command, no residue.
Is there any ad or money involved?
No. v1 is content-only — no ads, no tracking pixels, no revenue mechanics. Just ideas from The Diff in your downtime.