Mods will 10x your Claude Code: 5 to set up now
Skills, MCP servers and Hooks all hand Claude Code something from the outside: knowledge, tools, or a script that fires on an event. Mods are different. A mod runs inside Claude Code, so it can change the interface itself: a custom status line, a panel, a new slash command. Even the built-in /diff is a mod.
Out of the box you’re only using a fraction of what Claude Code can do. This video walks through what mods are, why they’re worth setting up, and the five I’ve built and lean on.
What the video covers
- What a mod is, and why you’d use one. Skills give knowledge and MCP gives tools. Mods live inside Claude Code and reshape its UI and commands.
- Mod 1: cache-timer. A countdown on the prompt cache, so you don’t let it expire mid-session and pay for the tokens again, plus a one-step handoff when it’s time to start fresh. It’s the one I’d miss most.
- Mod 2: record-mode. Masks API keys, emails and dollar amounts on screen automatically, so a screen recording doesn’t leak anything.
- Mod 3: todo. A to-do list that lives inside Claude Code and follows you across projects.
- Mod 4: ops-watch. Keeps an eye on scheduled automations and reports their status live in the status line.
- Mod 5: page-watch.
Before you install one
A mod runs with the same system permissions you have. There’s no sandbox. Don’t install a mod from a source you don’t trust. Building your own is the safer route, and you don’t need to write the code: describe the status line or panel you want, and Claude writes it and loads it for you to test.
Related
Mods are one layer of the setup in my daily 8-tool AI stack. record-mode came straight out of filming screen recordings for auto-editing video with Claude Code.