A Dynamic Island for AI coding agents on Windows
On an iPhone, the Dynamic Island shows what is running without opening the app. On Windows, a coding agent that needs you usually just rings a bell in a terminal tab you can’t see. Here is how to close that gap.
SHORT ANSWER
Windows has no built-in Dynamic Island or notch area. Coding agents signal you through the terminal: Claude Code and Codex fall back to the terminal bell in Windows Terminal, and Windows Terminal can turn that bell into a sound plus a flashing taskbar icon ("bellStyle": "all"). For a real always-on-top status bar that shows every agent and lets you answer permission requests, you need an overlay app such as Pet Island.
What people mean by a Dynamic Island for agents
Apple’s Dynamic Island is the pill-shaped area at the top of recent iPhones that shows live activity, like a timer or a ride on its way, without opening the app. Developers who run Claude Code, Codex or Cursor want the same idea on the desktop: one small place at the top of the screen that says which agent is working, which one is waiting for you and which one is done.
It matters more on Windows than anywhere else. A permission prompt sits in whatever window started the agent, often a terminal tab behind your editor, and the agent does nothing until you find it.
What you get on Windows without extra apps
| Agent | Built-in signal on Windows |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Desktop notifications by default only in Ghostty, Kitty and iTerm2. In Windows Terminal set "preferredNotifChannel": "terminal_bell" or add a Notification hook. |
| Codex CLI | [tui] notifications covers agent-turn-complete and approval-requested. In Windows Terminal this becomes the terminal bell. |
| Claude Code agent view | claude agents shows all background sessions as working, needs input, idle, completed, failed or stopped, but inside a terminal. |
The most useful single setting is in Windows Terminal: with bellStyle set to all, a bell plays a sound and flashes the taskbar icon.
That tells you *something* happened. It doesn’t tell you which agent, what it wants to run, or let you answer it.
Building your own with hooks
Claude Code and Codex both run hooks, so you can show a Windows notification yourself: a Notification hook with the permission_prompt matcher in Claude Code, or the TUI notifications in Codex. The guides Claude Code notifications on Windows and Codex notifications have working configurations.
- A notification disappears after a few seconds and lands in the notification center with everything else.
- Each agent needs its own setup, and Cursor, Copilot and Gemini CLI each use a different hook format.
- You still answer the prompt in the agent’s window. The notification only points at it.
An always-on-top island: Pet Island
Pet Island is a desktop app for Windows and macOS that adds this missing piece: a small island at the top edge of the screen, above every window, with one status light per agent. When Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Grok CLI or Antigravity asks to run a command or edit a file, the island opens into a card with the command or the diff. You allow (Ctrl Y) or deny (Ctrl N) without leaving the window you are in, and one click jumps to the exact terminal tab or editor window.
- Three styles: attached to the top edge like a notch, floating anywhere on the screen, or a desk pet at the bottom of the screen.
- 22 coding agents: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Grok CLI, Antigravity, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more. What works with each one is listed on the agents page.
- Local: requests are read and answered on your computer. Code and prompts are not sent to Pet Island’s servers.
- On macOS the island wraps the notch on Macs that have one.
Dynamic Island is Apple’s name for an iPhone feature. Pet Island is an independent app and is not affiliated with Apple.
FAQ
Is there a Dynamic Island for Windows?
Windows has no built-in Dynamic Island or notch area. Apps like Pet Island add a Dynamic Island-style bar at the top of the screen.
Is there a Dynamic Island for Claude Code?
Yes. Pet Island shows Claude Code sessions in a Dynamic Island-style bar on Windows and macOS, with their permission requests, questions and plans.
Can I see Claude Code, Codex and Cursor at the same time?
Yes. Each agent gets its own status light on the island, and their permission requests line up in one queue.
Does the island stay on top of other windows?
Yes. It sits above your editor and terminals so you see a waiting agent without switching windows.
How do I make Windows Terminal flash when an agent needs me?
Set "bellStyle": "all" in the Windows Terminal profile, then set Claude Code or Codex to use the terminal bell.
Sources
Every setting and behavior on this page was checked against these pages on October 26, 2026. Agents change fast; if something no longer matches, the official page wins.
- Claude Code docs: Configure your terminal (notifications)
- Claude Code docs: Agent view
- OpenAI: Codex notifications
- OpenAI: Codex sample config
- Microsoft Learn: Windows Terminal profile settings (bellStyle)
- Apple Support: View Live Activities in the Dynamic Island on iPhone