Hallmonitor watches sessions on multiple machines over SSH from one panel. ZackEyes also supports read-only SSH observation for up to eight hosts. Remote permissions and questions stay in the remote terminal.
Comparison
ZackEyes vs Hallmonitor.
ZackEyes and Hallmonitor are the two closest free, open-source notch panels for AI coding agents: both are MIT licensed, both track Claude Code and Codex CLI sessions, and both surface permission prompts without pulling you out of flow. Hallmonitor adds a terminal dashboard alongside SSH monitoring. ZackEyes also supports SSH observation and adds USD cost tracking, private Usage archives and themes.
The published app includes read-only SSH observation, opt-in supported Claude question answers, Demo mode and daily local Usage archives. See the feature guides and future roadmap.
Hallmonitor details were checked on 2026-10-08 againstgithub.com/hiteshbandhu/hallmonitor. ZackEyes details describe ZackEyes 0.10.3. If something here is out of date, pleaseopen an issue — an inaccurate comparison helps nobody.
Side by side.
| ZackEyes | Hallmonitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Licence | MIT open source — the whole app is public | MIT open source |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex CLI | Claude Code, Codex CLI |
| Surfaces | Dynamic Island-style notch panel plus menu bar | Notch overlay plus menu bar plus a terminal TUI board |
| Permission prompts | Opt-in supported Claude question answers with a timeout and terminal fallback | Surfaced with the waiting reason; agent questions can be answered directly from the notch |
| Session states | Running, needs-you, and recent sessions grouped by attention, with quota bars | Working, idle, and needs-you per session, with the waiting reason shown |
| Jump to terminal | 9 terminals and editors, including iTerm2, Ghostty, Warp, Kitty, VS Code, and Cursor | One-click jump to the session, process-tree based, works through tmux |
| Cost and token tracking | Per-session tokens and USD, plus a daily total with a 7-day sparkline; pricing table is bundled, so no API key | Tokens and agent-hours shown; USD cost conversion not published |
| Rate limits | 5-hour and 7-day usage pressure for both agents | Claude 5h/weekly and Codex window limits |
| Remote sessions | Read-only SSH observation; remote requests stay in the remote terminal | Multi-machine monitoring over SSH |
| Themes and sounds | 4 themes (Rock Legends, F1 2026, AI Moguls, Crayon Shin-chan) with matching notification sounds | Not published |
| Telemetry | None — and you can verify that by reading the source | None stated |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 14 | Not published |
Which one fits.
Hallmonitor lets you answer an agent's question directly in the notch panel. ZackEyes offers opt-in answers for supported local Claude questions, with a two-minute timeout and terminal fallback. Remote questions stay in the remote terminal.
ZackEyes shows per-session tokens and converts them to USD from a bundled pricing table, with a daily total and a 7-day sparkline — computed locally, no API key. Hallmonitor shows tokens and agent-hours without a USD figure.
ZackEyes ships four themes with matching buddy names and notification sounds, and release builds are universal binaries for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Questions.
Is there a free alternative to Hallmonitor?
Yes. ZackEyes is a free, MIT-licensed macOS notch panel for AI coding agents, same as Hallmonitor. Both track Claude Code and Codex CLI sessions and surface permission prompts. Hallmonitor includes SSH monitoring and a terminal dashboard. ZackEyes combines read-only SSH observation and opt-in supported Claude question answers with local USD cost tracking, private Usage archives and themes.
What is the difference between ZackEyes and Hallmonitor?
Both are free and MIT licensed, both cover Claude Code and Codex CLI in the notch and menu bar, and both jump you to the right terminal. Hallmonitor answers agent questions directly from the notch and watches sessions on remote machines over SSH. The published ZackEyes download converts tokens to USD with daily totals and a 7-day sparkline, plus themes and sounds. ZackEyes also includes read-only SSH observation and opt-in supported Claude question answers; remote requests remain terminal-only.
Which one should I use?
Both offer SSH monitoring and question answers, with ZackEyes limiting answers to supported local Claude choices after opt-in. Hallmonitor also has a terminal dashboard; ZackEyes has no TUI. Use ZackEyes if you want per-session USD cost tracking, themes and sounds, or you run on an Intel Mac — ZackEyes ships a universal arm64/x86_64 build.
Does Hallmonitor track token cost in USD?
Not as published: Hallmonitor shows tokens and agent-hours per session. ZackEyes shows per-session tokens and converts them to USD from a bundled pricing table, with a daily total and a 7-day sparkline, all computed locally with no API key.
Is ZackEyes really free, or is there a paid tier?
ZackEyes is entirely free with no paid tier, no accounts, and no upsell. The source is MIT licensed on GitHub, and releases ship as a DMG containing an ad-hoc signed app, without Developer ID notarization.