OpenUsage: Menu‑Bar Dashboard for AI Subscription Tracking
OpenUsage: Menu‑Bar Dashboard for AI Subscription Tracking
Managing multiple AI coding subscriptions can become a maze of dashboards, invoices and hidden over‑ages. OpenUsage turns that maze into a single, easy‑to‑read panel that lives directly in your macOS menu bar. The app is free and fully open‑source, and it shows you the exact amount of credits or monthly allotment you’ve used from providers like Amp, Claude, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Kimi Code, and Windsurf – with more on the horizon.
Why OpenUsage?
- One‑click visibility – See your usage in a glance without navigating to each provider’s site.
- Automatic refreshes – Choose a schedule (e.g., every 30 minutes) and let the app keep the data up‑to‑date.
- Customizable shortcuts – A global hotkey toggles the panel from anywhere you’re working.
- Plugin‑based architecture – Adding or updating a provider is as simple as installing a new plugin – no app restarts or manual code changes.
- AI‑crafted code – Incredibly the entire repo was written, reviewed, and shipped by AI assistants. No manual coding was required.
Features at a Glance
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Progress bars & badges | Instant visual cues that let you know how close you are to your monthly limits. |
| Provider list | Built‑in support for Amp, Antigravity, Claude, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Kimi Code and Windsurf. |
| Future providers | Planned add‑ons include Factory/ Droid, Gemini and Vercel AI Gateway. |
| Cross‑platform work‑in‑progress | Windows and Linux are high‑priority targets – community testers are welcome. |
| Self‑hosting | The app is built with Tauri, enabling lightweight binaries that run on macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon). |
| Extensible plugins | New providers are distributed as standalone plugins – developers can ship their own without waiting for core updates. |
Installing OpenUsage
- Download the latest release for macOS from the GitHub releases page. Pick the installer for Apple Silicon or Intel, depending on your chip.
- Open the DMG and drag
OpenUsageto your Applications folder. - Launch the app – the first time you run it, a permission dialogue will ask for “Access for Accessibility.” Grant it to let the global shortcut work.
- Add your provider tokens – Each plugin requires an API key or token. Open the settings panel (⌘‑Shift‑U by default) and paste your credentials. The UI will auto‑verify and start pulling data.
- Set a refresh interval – From the Preferences menu, choose how often you want the dashboard to update automatically.
Once set up, a sleek icon appears in your menu bar. Hovering over it reveals a brief usage pie‑chart for each provider. Click the icon to open the full panel with progress bars, labels, and a copy button for each provider.
How OpenUsage Works – Behind the Scenes
| Layer | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Tauri | Bridges the Rust‑based backend with a lightweight webview front‑end. Keeps binaries small and resource‑friendly. |
| Plugins | Each AI provider lives in its own directory under plugins/. Plugins expose an API that the core reads to fetch usage data in JSON. |
| Data Aggregation | The main Node/TS process runs a scheduled job every n minutes to hit each provider’s endpoint using the stored API key. The responses are cached for display in the UI. |
| Hotkeys | Built‑in support for global shortcuts via Tauri’s GlobalShortcut API, allowing you to toggle the panel without focusing the app. |
| AI‑driven development | All commits, README, CI configuration, and plugin skeletons were produced by large language models. Developers can still review, improve, or replace any function as needed. |
Contributing to OpenUsage
The project is as open‑source as its name suggests. Contributions come in many forms:
- Add a new provider – If you use a service not yet listed, fork the repo, copy an existing plugin skeleton, adapt the API calls, and submit a PR.
- Fix bugs or tweak UX – The UI is written in Svelte + Tailwind. Minor refactorings or style fixes are welcome.
- Improve documentation – The README, contribution guide or the
AGENTS.mdfile could use more examples or clearer instructions. - Cross‑platform support – Windows and Linux binaries are a priority. Testing, packaging, and CI improvements are needed.
All PRs are reviewed by the maintainer. Please run npm test and npm run build before submitting. Feel free to file issues with bugs or feature requests.
Future Roadmap
| Milestone | Goal |
|---|---|
| v0.7 | Add Windows and Linux binaries; start packaging for Debian and RPM. |
| v0.8 | Implement “subscription bundle” mode – group multiple providers under a single badge. |
| v1.0 | Release a web‑based dashboard portal (cloud‑hosted) that syncs with the menu‑bar app. |
Summary
OpenUsage gives developers—and even non‑technical users—a clean, no‑extra‑software way to see exactly how much of their AI coding budgets they’ve spent. Built entirely by AI and shared openly, the project demonstrates the power of plugin‑driven design and community collaboration. Download, tweak your provider keys, and let OpenUsage be the eye‑catching dashboard that keeps your subscription spiral under control.
Ready to try? Get the latest release from GitHub, install it on macOS, and add your first provider. Have ideas or want to help grow the project? Dive into the repo, open an issue, or submit a pull request. Let’s make AI subscription tracking simple, transparent, and free for everyone.