Headroom

Questions the listing answers

What is Headroom and what does it do?

Headroom is a menu-bar desktop app (built on the open-source Headroom CLI) that runs as a local proxy to reversibly compress tool output, logs, and boilerplate before they reach Claude Code or ChatGPT. By trimming noisy items it typically reduces token use on the compressed items by ~50% and overall session token usage by up to ~50%, letting the same plan deliver more usage without changing model outputs. (All optimization runs locally.)

Does Headroom run locally or send my prompts to Headroom servers?

Headroom runs locally on your machine; the app routes prompts through a local proxy and the compression/optimization happens on-device. Prompts and code do not need to be sent to Headroom servers. (The desktop app downloads a local compression model on first launch.)

Which platforms does Headroom support?

Headroom provides desktop builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Does Headroom work with Claude Code and with ChatGPT (Codex)?

Yes. Headroom connects to Claude Code as a first-class connector and also supports OpenAI Codex as available via the ChatGPT/Codex connector; you enable the Claude Code and/or ChatGPT connector in the app and Headroom routes the client through the same local optimization proxy.

How do I install Headroom and verify it is routing my agent through the local proxy?

Install the appropriate desktop build (drag into Applications on macOS, run the Windows installer, or install the .deb / AppImage on Linux). On first run the app downloads its isolated Python runtime and a local compression model. In the Headroom app enable the connector for Claude Code, ChatGPT, or both; Headroom configures your shell, and you should open a fresh terminal (terminals already open keep their old environment). Verify routing by running echo $ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL (or echo $OPENAI_BASE_URL for ChatGPT) in the terminal where your agent runs — it should point at 127.0.0.1:6767. The dashboard starts counting requests and savings from the first prompt once routing is active.

Is Headroom open-source and where can I find the code?

Yes. Headroom’s compression engine is the open-source Headroom CLI on GitHub. The desktop app is built on top of the CLI (headroom-desktop) and the project repositories are linked from the Headroom site.