macOS: Visual indicator on tabs that need user attention (e.g. color or dot)

[dandaka]

Problem

When running multiple terminal sessions in tabs (e.g. several Claude Code instances), some tabs may require user action while others are busy working. There is currently no clear way to tell which tab needs attention without clicking through each one.

The existing bell-features = title is supposed to add a bell emoji to the tab title, but in practice it doesn't appear on macOS. The dock badge (#7108) only works at the app level, not per-tab.

Proposed Behavior

Add a visible per-tab attention indicator when a bell or OSC 9 notification fires in a background tab. This could be:

• A colored dot or circle on the tab (similar to how browsers indicate audio playing)
• A subtle background color change on the tab (e.g. a highlight or tint)
• A colored underline or border on the tab

The indicator should clear when the user switches to that tab.

This would complement the existing bell-features options and could be added as a new value like bell-features = tab-indicator.

Use Case

Running multiple AI coding agents (Claude Code) across tabs. Each independently requests confirmation at different times. Currently I have to cycle through all tabs to find which ones need input. A glance at the tab bar should be enough.

Related

• macOS: badge on dock icon for bell #7108 — dock badge for bell (app-level, not per-tab)
• macOS: notification badge isn't cleared unless app is defocused and refocused #8487 — badge clearing issues
• Bells do not appear with custom tab titles #10210 — bell emoji in title broken with custom titles (fixed, but still not working on macOS in practice)
• As noted by @mitchellh in macOS: implement bell support #7099, macOS has no native per-tab attention API, so this would need to be a custom Ghostty UI element.

Environment

• macOS Sequoia
• Ghostty tip

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This discussion was co-authored with Claude Code.

[mitchellh]

The existing bell-features = title is supposed to add a bell emoji to the tab title, but in practice it doesn't appear on macOS.

What do you mean? It shows up for me reliably (on tip).

[dandaka]

This is how a tab with updates looks for me. I have been using Ghostty for a week and I have seen this bell icon a few times.

[mitchellh]

Does Claude Code trigger a bell?

[dandaka]

no it does not

[dandaka]

appeared for a brief moment before disappearing

whole notification system on MacOS feels buggy (sometimes I get 10 notifications straight, sometimes none)