Introduction

Hello everyone, this is Akaike.
Recently, I feel like I spend more time using Claude Code than not using it, both for work and personal projects.

By the way, have you all properly looked at those messages that appear during Claude Code's processing?
I took a close look at them recently and found they contain some quite mysterious words.

Combobulating...
It seems to be a word that means something like "organizing" or "combining," but it has a strange ring to it.

There are also many other mysterious phrases like "Photosynthesizing...", "Pondering...", "Moonwalking...", etc.
Upon investigation, these appear to be called Spinner Verbs, and apparently, they can be customized.

So today, I'll enjoy browsing through the default Spinner Verbs while also customizing them to my taste for a bit of comfort.

What are Spinner Verbs?

Spinner Verbs are the text displayed next to the spinner (the rotating animation) in the terminal while Claude Code is processing.
Normal CLI tools typically display something mechanical like "Processing..." or "Loading...", but Claude Code adds a playful touch.

And as of Claude Code v2.1.23, these texts have become customizable.
This means you can not only enjoy the default verbs but also change them to your own preferred words.

https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#2123

Taking a look at the default Spinner Verbs

The default texts are not officially published as a list.
First, only documentation and plugins are published in Claude Code's official GitHub repository, while the implementation code containing the Spinner Verbs definitions is not public.

https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code

And the official documentation only describes how to customize them...

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/21599

However, there are several unofficial repositories where volunteers have collected and organized the verbs.

https://github.com/paolobozzola/spinner-verbs-dictionary
https://github.com/levindixon/tengu_spinner_words

The former is a collection of 191 verbs categorized in dictionary form, while the latter tracks the addition and changes of verbs across 139 versions from v0.2.9 to v1.0.48.
According to the latter repository, the internal code name for Spinner Verbs is "Tengu" (??why??).

In addition to the hardcoded verbs, there seems to be a mechanism to dynamically retrieve verbs from the server.
Since they may be added or changed with version updates, this is just for reference, but here are some interesting ones I picked:

Looking at these, the range of genres is quite wide.
It conveys that Anthropic's development team is serious about "not making waiting time boring."

Let's customize them

While the default texts are nice, since we can customize them, let's create our own Spinner Verbs.

Spinner Verbs settings are written in ~/.claude/settings.json.

https://code.claude.com/docs/ja/settings

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "ほげ",
            "ほげほげ",
            "ほげほげほげ"
        ]
    }
}

There are only two key points:

1. Choose mode

If you want to keep the default verbs and mix in your own, choose append; if you want to completely replace them with your originals, choose replace.

2. Write in object format

spinnerVerbs must be specified in the following object format:

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "text"
        ]
    }
}

Samples

Here are some samples I created, feel free to use them.
Using append mode allows you to mix your text with the default English verbs, so you might enjoy the surprise of occasionally seeing Japanese text.

Soothing Style

For accompanying late-night coding when you're tired. I've chosen short onomatopoeia that can be viewed absentmindedly.

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "ぽかぽか",
            "もふもふ",
            "ことこと",
            "ゆらゆら",
            "ぬくぬく",
            "そよそよ",
            "しんしん",
            "ほわほわ",
            "まったり",
            "うとうと",
            "ぱちぱち",
            "さらさら",
            "ふわふわ",
            "シャッキリポン"
        ]
    }
}

Food Craving Style

Use at your own risk when hungry or late at night.

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "ラーメンの替え玉を頼んでいます",
            "唐揚げにレモンをかけています",
            "ピザの最後の一切れを狙っています",
            "コンビニの新作スイーツを物色中",
            "回転寿司で高い皿ばかり取っています",
            "ビュッフェで3周目に突入しました",
            "夜中にカップ麺を開けています",
            "おかわり自由のご飯をおかわり中",
            "ポテトをLサイズにアップグレード中",
            "チーズ追加トッピング中",
            "大盛り無料なので大盛りにしています",
            "2周目の試食コーナーを開始します",
            "デザートは別腹と言い聞かせています"
        ]
    }
}

Animal Style

A simple style with just animal icons.
It just shows an animal icon beside the spinner, which is quite nice. Surreal and cute.
(JSON comments can't actually be included, so please remove the // lines when setting up.)

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            // Mammals
            "🐕",
            "🐱",
            "🐹",
            "🦊",
            "🐼",
            "🐨",
            // Birds
            "🐧",
            "🦉",
            "🐦",
            "🦜",
            "🦢",
            // Reptiles/Amphibians
            "🐸",
            "🦎",
            "🐢",
            "🐊",
            "🦕",
            // Sea creatures
            "🐙",
            "🦈",
            "🐠",
            "🐳",
            "🦭"
        ]
    }
}

Kaomoji Style

Bringing Japan's proud kaomoji culture to Spinner Verbs.
When you see (；´Д`)... during a slow response, it creates a strange sense of familiarity.

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "(｀・ω・´)",
            "(´・ω・`)",
            "( ˘ω˘ )",
            "(*´▽`*)",
            "(；´Д`)",
            "( ﾟДﾟ)",
            "(´;ω;`)",
            "٩( 'ω' )و",
            "(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧",
            "( ˙꒳​˙ )",
            "\\(^o^)/",
            "(´-ω-`)",
            "( ・ᴗ・ )",
            "(; ・`д・´)",
            "(*˘︶˘*)"
        ]
    }
}

Deadline-Driven Development Style

For those final pushes before deadlines.

{
    "spinnerVerbs": {
        "mode": "replace",
        "verbs": [
            "締切は明日です",
            "締切は今日です",
            "締切は昨日でした",
            "まだ慌てるような時間じゃない",
            "進捗ダメです",
            "進捗ダメじゃないです(多分)",
            "本日17杯目のコーヒー",
            "git push --force (冗談です)",
            "TODO: あとでリファクタする",
            "レビュー指摘: 42件",
            "見積もりの3倍の工数がかかっています",
            "今週4度目の仕様変更が来ました",
            "ここを乗り越えれば打ち上げらしいです"
        ]
    }
}

What happens with line breaks?

I got curious. What happens with line breaks??

{
  "spinnerVerbs": {
    "mode": "replace",
    "verbs": [
      "🦀🦀🦀\n🦀🦀🦀\n🦀🦀🦀\n🦀🦀🦀"
    ]
  }
}

As a result, line breaks do work and display on multiple lines, but with each redraw, the display gets jumbled, making the crabs appear to be moving unintentionally.

Pretty cute.

Note: About Setting Scopes

settings.json can be configured at multiple scopes.

https://code.claude.com/docs/ja/settings

User or Local scope is recommended for personal enjoyment, while Project scope is good for team sharing.
(Note: Distributing to your team via Project scope requires a bit of courage)

Conclusion

That's it for finding comfort in Claude Code's Spinner Verbs.

In AI-driven development, waiting times are inevitable.
I think it's wonderful for a development tool to include features that make that time more enjoyable.

Please try setting up your favorite Spinner Verbs to enhance your development life with Claude Code.
I hope this article is helpful for Claude Code users nationwide.