brb

For Claude Code · macOS

Take a break while Claude works.

brb offers somewhere to go when a turn runs long, and calls you back the moment it's done.

☕️

Time for a break?

Claude has been working 12s · brb

Your list: brb items

↑ go on, pick one

$ claude plugin marketplace add usebrb/brb && claude plugin install brb@brb

Paste it in Terminal, then start a new Claude Code session. Free & open source · what it does · GitHub

brb runs on your Mac. Open this page there to install.

The whole loop, in 16 seconds.

Claude starts a long turn. The break panel shows up, you go to X, and the "Claude is done" card finds you there. One click and you're back in the terminal.

How it works

brb runs on Claude Code's own lifecycle hooks. No AI, no polling, no terminal scraping.

  1. You send a big prompt

    After 10 seconds of Claude working, a small panel offers somewhere to go. X, Reddit, HN, or anything you add.

  2. You go, on purpose

    The menu bar counts the turn: ⚡️ while it runs, ✅ when it lands. Blocked on a permission prompt? You get a "Claude needs you" ping.

  3. It comes and gets you

    "Claude is done" shows up over whatever you're reading, with a one-line summary. Back to Terminal puts you right where you were.

What the command does

It uses Claude Code's own plugin installer, so nothing runs from this website. The rest happens on your next session.

  1. Adds the plugin

    Claude Code installs brb's hooks from github.com/usebrb/brb. Plain bash you can read.

  2. Fetches the app

    Your next session downloads the brb menu bar app (about 1 MB) from the repo's latest release into Applications, and starts it.

  3. Keeps them in step

    Plugin updates arrive through Claude Code, and the app follows to the matching version. Nothing else to maintain.

Prefer slash commands? Inside Claude Code, run /plugin marketplace add usebrb/brb, then /plugin install brb@brb.

Questions

Does it send my code or prompts anywhere?

No. brb reads Claude Code's hook events on your machine and draws two small windows. The only network requests are a one-time fetch of each break site's icon, which you can turn off with touch ~/.claude/brb/no-icons.

Where does it work?

Anywhere Claude Code runs on a Mac: the CLI in any terminal, the Desktop app, VS Code and JetBrains. Back to Terminal returns you to whichever app owns the session.

macOS 14 or later. Not on Linux or Windows yet; the hooks just do nothing there.

What if I don't take the break?

Then brb stays quiet. You only get called back for a turn you walked away from through the panel. Close the panel or hit Stay here and nothing else happens.

I build the app myself. Will the plugin overwrite it?

Not if you tell it not to: put AUTO_APP=0 in ~/.claude/brb/config.sh. Then build it from a clone with ./brb app install. The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized; it opens without a warning because the plugin downloads it with curl rather than a browser.

How do I uninstall it? 
claude plugin uninstall brb@brb
rm -rf /Applications/brb.app ~/.claude/brb

Go somewhere on purpose.

$ claude plugin marketplace add usebrb/brb && claude plugin install brb@brb