Check-ins on long turns

If a turn runs for a long time, Claudette can ask Claude how it’s going, so a tab doesn’t sit stuck and burn usage without anyone noticing.

When a check-in is sent

Either of two things starts a check-in. Each can be changed or turned off:

Run time. The turn has been running for longer than a set time, 15 minutes by default.
Quiet time. The turn has produced no new output for a set time, 5 minutes by default.

The countdown

When a check-in is due, a bar over the message box counts down 30 seconds first: Checking in with Claude in 30s. Hover it to see the message that will be sent.

Send now sends it straight away.
The ✕ (Don’t check in) skips it. The timers start again, so the next check-in is a whole interval away, as if Claude had just said something.

The bar goes away by itself if the turn no longer calls for a check-in: Claude said something after a quiet spell, a permission prompt or question came up, or the turn ended. Once a check-in is sent it can’t be taken back.

What happens

Claudette sends a message into the session, as if you’d typed it while Claude was working. The default is:

Everything OK? Give me a one or two sentence status update: what you’re doing, and whether you’re stuck or waiting on something.

In the conversation it shows as your message with an Automatic check-in label, so it’s clear you didn’t type it. Claude’s reply shows as usual, and the turn carries on.

Claude only sees the message between steps. If it’s running one long command, such as a long test run, the check-in arrives when that command finishes. If Claude is in the middle of a long text-only reply, the check-in runs as the next turn.

Possibly stuck

If two check-ins in a row get no reply, Claudette stops sending them for that turn. A bar over the box says Claude hasn’t answered two check-ins. It may be stuck., with Stop, and the tab’s row in the sidebar says Possibly stuck. What to do about it is in A tab that seems stuck.

Limits

At most one check-in per interval. The timers restart after Claude replies.
No check-in while the tab is waiting on a permission prompt or question. That’s waiting on you, not on Claude.
Check-ins use a small amount of usage, counted in the tab’s tokens like any other message.

Settings

Settings → Tabs → Check-ins on long turns:

Setting	Default
Check in on long turns	On
After the turn has run (minutes)	15
After no output for (minutes)	5
Message	The message above
Notify me when a check-in is sent	Off

Set either time to 0 to turn that trigger off. Notify me when a check-in is sent also sends a system notification (Notifications).

A tab can have its own: Tab settings… → Use different check-ins for this tab, with the same settings. See Tab settings.