CodexBar Cinnamon Applet

July 11, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

A Linux Mint Cinnamon panel applet for displaying Codex usage from steipete/CodexBar.

The applet runs the codexbar CLI, reads its JSON output, and shows a compact panel gauge based on the primary usage window. Clicking the applet opens a small details popup with session, weekly, extra usage, cost, refresh status, and error information when available.

CodexBar Cinnamon Applet demo

Provider Support

The applet is confirmed working with the Codex provider. Support for the other providers exposed by CodexBar is still considered beta, and feedback from testers is welcome. If you try another provider, please report what works, what does not, and include a sanitized sample of the JSON output when possible.

Requirements

  • Linux Mint Cinnamon, or another Cinnamon desktop that supports local applets
  • CodexBar installed and working
  • A codexbar executable available on your machine

By default, this applet expects CodexBar at:

/opt/apps/codexbar/codexbar

You can change that path in the applet settings after installation.

Check CodexBar

Before installing the applet, make sure CodexBar can produce JSON:

/opt/apps/codexbar/codexbar usage --format json --provider codex

Provider failures are okay as long as CodexBar still emits JSON. The applet is designed to show CodexBar error responses instead of crashing.

Install

Clone this repository:

git clone <repo-url>
cd codexbar-applet

Create Cinnamon's local applets directory if needed:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/cinnamon/applets

Symlink this checkout into Cinnamon's applet directory:

ln -s "$PWD" ~/.local/share/cinnamon/applets/codexbar@local

Open System Settings -> Applets, find CodexBar, and add it to the panel.

If the applet does not appear, restart Cinnamon:

  1. Press Alt+F2
  2. Type r
  3. Press Enter

You can also log out and back in.

Updating

Pull the latest changes in your checkout:

git pull

Then remove and re-add the applet, or restart Cinnamon, so the updated JavaScript and stylesheet are reloaded.

Configuration

Open the applet's settings from Cinnamon's Applets panel.

Available settings:

  • CodexBar command path: path to the codexbar executable
  • Provider: defaults to codex
  • Refresh interval: defaults to 60 seconds

The applet runs a command like:

/opt/apps/codexbar/codexbar usage --format json --provider codex

Display

The panel indicator is a tiny gauge sourced from CodexBar's primary limit data:

  • primary.usedPercent controls the gauge fill
  • Green means low usage
  • Amber means elevated usage
  • Red means usage is near 100%

The popup uses CodexBar's primary and secondary limit windows for Session and Weekly usage, and shows additional supported fields when present.

Troubleshooting

If the applet shows an error, run the configured command manually:

/opt/apps/codexbar/codexbar usage --format json --provider codex --pretty

Common things to check:

  • The CodexBar path in applet settings is correct
  • CodexBar is installed from steipete/CodexBar
  • CodexBar can access the account/provider you selected
  • Cinnamon was restarted after installing or updating the applet

Applet logs can usually be viewed with:

tail -f ~/.xsession-errors