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Separate quota from activity

A usage meter answers how much capacity has been consumed. Activity signals answer what the process is doing now. Combining them prevents two bad reactions: interrupting healthy work and ignoring a session that needs input.

Look for process activity, recent transcript changes, tool execution, queue state, and an explicit request for approval. A flat percentage is not proof that the agent stopped.

Treat waiting as a handoff

When the agent needs a decision, permission, login, or clarification, the productive move is to respond quickly. A waiting notification is therefore more useful than another generic completion sound.

Super Notchy shows working, waiting, and finished states for supported local sessions and can briefly open the notch or play a sound when a handoff occurs.

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Know when to intervene

Intervene when there has been no meaningful activity beyond the normal time for that task, the same tool call repeats, or usage continues climbing without progress. First inspect the session, then stop or redirect it with a specific instruction.

Afterward, note the usage change. Stalled loops are not only a reliability problem. They can also consume a significant part of a short window before anybody notices.

Sources and further reading