zidaneContext and usage
The context orb, compaction, run receipts, plan usage, the footer and the daemon menu in the desktop app.
This page covers the numbers that the desktop app shows about context, cost and plan limits, and the footer.
Context orb#
The composer's orb shows how full the context window is. Hover or click it for the breakdown: what fills it, the auto-compact line and the session's cost so far.
| Category | Is |
|---|---|
| System prompt | The agent's built-in instructions |
| Rules (AGENTS.md) | Your AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md files |
| Tool definitions | The built-in tools' schemas |
| MCP tools, MCP instructions | What your MCP servers add |
| Skills | The skills the agent can use, and the active ones |
| Searchable tools catalog | The list in the system prompt that names the tools the agent can find with tool_search and load on demand |
| Conversation | Messages, tool calls and results so far |
| MCP tools (deferred), System tools (deferred) | Tools that are listed but not loaded. They cost nothing until the agent uses them. |
| Autocompact buffer | The room past the auto-compact threshold |
| Free space | What is left |
Each category opens to its items and their sizes. The breakdown appears after the first run. Under the bar, the last turn splits into cached reads, cache writes, fresh input and output. ~ marks an estimate when the provider reports no exact counts.
Compaction#
Past the auto-compact line, the app summarizes the conversation and the session continues. What the model keeps: compaction.
| Where | What |
|---|---|
| Footer | A compacting indicator with its progress while the app writes a summary (with Settings › Interface › Streaming › Throbber on) |
| Palette, or Control Shift KK | Compact conversation, by hand |
| Session details | Compact now |
| Settings › Agent › Context & limits | Auto-compact and its threshold. The compaction model is under Agent › Helper models |
Run receipts and limits#
After each run, a transcript receipt gives the agent, model, time, cost and tokens. The agent badge has a swap icon when the run used a different agent than the previous one (Settings › Interface › Conversation › Run receipt). The orb's popover adds the session's total cost and run count. During a run, the run chip shows the numbers live.
Settings › Agent › Context & limits stops a run at a turn count, cost, token count or duration (run-level budgets).
Plan usage#
With Settings › Interface › Sidebar & usage › Check usage on, the app reads your signed-in providers' plan limits and credits, and GitHub's API limits (plan usage).
| Where | Shows |
|---|---|
| Footer | The most constrained window of the active provider, such as 5h 43%. It changes color at 60% and again at 85%. It shows only when a session is open and the provider reports usage. Settings › Interface › Sidebar & usage › Usage indicator. |
| Usage panel | Every provider's windows and credits, and GitHub's limits. Control PP or a click on the footer gauge. Refresh reads them again. |
Lifetime usage is on the welcome screen.
The footer#
At the bottom of the sidebar, left to right:
| Item | Shows |
|---|---|
| Daemon dot | The daemon's state. Only with Shared daemon runtime on. |
| Update | A new version, an install in progress, or a relaunch. See updates. |
| sign in | Shown while no provider has credentials. Opens Connect, the provider step of the setup wizard. |
| Usage gauge | See plan usage |
| Compacting indicator | While the app writes a summary, with Throbber on |
| Space icons | In the center, with spaces on. See spaces. |
| Settings gear | Opens Settings (Command ,,) |
The daemon menu#
The daemon dot opens a menu with the connection, the daemon's sessions, then actions. It exists only with Settings › Advanced › Experimental › Shared daemon runtime on. What the daemon is: the daemon.
| Row | Does |
|---|---|
| A session, Running or Waiting for your answer | Click to jump to it. Its Stop button stops that run. |
| Stop all runs | Stops every run on the daemon |
| Relaunch Zidane | Shown when the daemon runs newer code than the window |
| Reconnect now | Retries at once. Without it, the app retries every 5 seconds. |
| Restart daemon | Restarts it once its runs finish |
| Restart daemon now | Stops running work and restarts it |
| Turn daemon mode off | Runs chats inside the window again |
| Copy diagnostics | Copies the connection details for a bug report |