Six things a good AI usage dashboard puts on one screen
Tokens, capacity, resets, models, history and alerts, and how UsageAtlas fits them into one free desktop app.
By ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom · Editorial team
· 2 min read
A good AI usage dashboard puts six things on one screen: today's tokens, remaining capacity, reset times, model mix, history and alerts. UsageAtlas is the free, open-source AI usage dashboard that shows all six for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other coding tools, right on your desktop.
Here is what each panel is for, and what to look at first.
1. Today at a glance
The first panel answers "how much have I used today?" It should show tokens, requests and an estimated cost, with an hourly chart so you can see when the heavy work happened. In UsageAtlas this is the Today view, and you can filter it down to one tool when you want a closer look.
2. Capacity gauges
Tokens describe the past. Capacity describes the next hour. If you are on a plan with usage windows, such as Claude's five-hour and weekly limits or Codex's session and weekly windows, the dashboard needs a gauge for each window you can hit. UsageAtlas shows the windows that each provider reports.
3. Reset times
A gauge at 90 percent means little until you know when it refills. Put the reset time next to each window, in your own time zone. Then you can decide whether to wait, slow down or move the task to another tool.
4. Model mix
Most coding tools let you switch models, and the bigger models use your allowance faster. A model mix panel shows which models did the work this week. If one model takes most of the tokens for small edits, that is the first thing to change.
5. History against your own baseline
One day's number means little alone. A history panel with 7, 30 and 90 day ranges, compared with the previous period, tells you whether this week was heavy or normal. UsageAtlas adds peak hours and a weekly heatmap, which show when you code with AI.
6. Alerts before a limit
The last panel is the one you do not have to look at. Set a threshold, and the dashboard should warn you before a window runs out, not after. UsageAtlas sends one desktop notification per reset cycle at the level you pick, so it does not nag.
Quick comparison: built-in screens vs a dashboard
| Panel | Built-in tool screen | UsageAtlas |
|---|---|---|
| Today's tokens | One tool at a time | All detected tools |
| Capacity and resets | In each tool, where offered | Side by side |
| Model mix | Varies | Yes |
| 90-day history | Usually not | Yes |
| Alerts | Varies | Yes, per window |
What a usage dashboard is not
It is not your bill. UsageAtlas labels its cost figures as estimates unless a provider reports them, and your provider's invoice stays the record. It is also not a hosted analytics service: it runs on your computer, needs no account for local tracking, and does not read prompts or responses.
If you only need a quick look inside one tool, its own command is enough: /usage in Claude Code or /status in the Codex CLI. When you use more than one tool, get the free UsageAtlas desktop app for Windows, macOS or Linux.