Personalize Claude Code with Custom Themed Spinner Verbs

Customize Claude Code’s spinner verbs with themed quotes (LOTR, Star Wars, GoT, Matrix, Dune…)

Claude Code is an AI coding assistant that displays standardized ‘Thinking…’ and ‘Processing…’ messages during operation. The new claude-verbs CLI tool allows developers to inject personality into these wait times by replacing default verbs with curated themes.

Why This Matters

While ideal software models focus purely on functional output, the technical reality of LLM latency requires developers to wait for inference completion. Improving the developer experience during these unavoidable idle periods through customization can reduce friction and improve the subjective quality of the engineering environment.

Key Insights

• The claude-verbs CLI tool, released in 2026, modifies the default ‘boring’ spinner text in Claude Code.
• The tool supports multiple pop-culture themes including Star Wars phrases like ‘May the tokens be with you’.
• Compatibility extends across both the standalone Claude Code CLI and the integrated VSCode extension.
• Specific theme examples include the Dune-inspired ‘Tokens must flow’ and the Game of Thrones quote ‘What do we say to PO? Not today.’
• The utility is designed to improve the developer experience by providing entertainment during inference latency.

Working Examples

Command to execute the theme selection tool for Claude Code.

npx claude-verbs

Practical Applications

• Use case: Enhancing IDE personality for developers frequently using Claude Code for long-running tasks. Pitfall: Over-customization in shared environments leading to unprofessional output in screen-shared pair programming.
• Use case: Utilizing themes like ‘Breaking Bad’ to signify high-quality code generation with ‘99.1% pure coverage’. Pitfall: Misalignment between humorous spinner text and serious production incidents.

References:

• https://dev.to/sametacar/customize-claude-codes-spinner-verbs-with-themed-quotes-lotr-star-wars-got-matrix-dune-2epa