Claude Quest: pixel-art visualization for Claude Code sessions
Watching Claude Code work is… text. Lots of text. You see tool calls scroll by, maybe skim the output, trust the process.
I wanted something different. So I built Claude Quest — a pixel-art RPG companion that visualizes Claude Code sessions in real-time.
What you see
| Claude action | Animation |
|---|---|
| Reading files | Casting spell |
| Tool calls | Firing projectiles |
| Writing/editing | Typing |
| Extended thinking | Intense focus + particles |
| Success | Victory dance |
| Error | Enemy spawns and hits Clawd |
| Subagent spawn | Mini Clawd appears |
| Git push | ”SHIPPED!” rainbow banner |
The character walks through five parallax biomes that cycle every 20 seconds. Paul Robertson-inspired pixel art at 320x200, 24fps animations.
A mana bar shows your remaining context window. Starts full at 200k tokens, drains as conversation grows. When Claude compacts, it refills.
You level up by using Claude Code. Unlockables include hats, faces, auras, and trails.
How it works
Claude Code writes conversation logs as JSONL files to ~/.claude/projects/. Claude Quest watches these files and parses tool events as they stream in. No API keys, no network calls, no proxying. Just file watching.
Built with Go and Raylib. The animation system is a state machine managing 10 states with frame timing and transition rules. Biomes use multiple parallax layers scrolling at different speeds (0.05x to 1.0x) for depth.
The sprite sheet — every frame of every animation on a single texture. Idle, walk, cast, attack, write, hurt, victory, and more.
Usage
npm install -g claude-questThen in a new terminal tab, same directory as your Claude Code session:
cqThat’s it. Keep it running alongside Claude Code.
Other commands: cq replay <file.jsonl> to replay saved conversations, cq doctor to check setup.
Long Claude Code sessions can feel abstract. You’re collaborating with something, but you can’t see it working. Claude Quest makes the invisible visible — every file read, every bash command, every moment of extended thinking becomes something you can watch.
It’s also just more fun.