Know when your agent is done, without watching it.

The built-in alert

Claude Code sends a desktop notification when it finishes or waits for permission and you seem to be away, but only in Ghostty, Kitty and iTerm2. In Windows Terminal, VS Code, Warp and the rest, ask for the terminal bell instead:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "preferredNotifChannel": "terminal_bell"
}

Running inside tmux? Add set -g allow-passthrough on to ~/.tmux.conf, or the alert never reaches your terminal.

A sound the moment it's done

A Stop hook runs as soon as Claude finishes a reply. Pick the line for your system:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "hooks": {
    "Stop": [
      { "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Glass.aiff" }] }
    ]
  }
}

// Windows:
"command": "powershell -NoProfile -Command \"(New-Object Media.SoundPlayer 'C:/Windows/Media/chimes.wav').PlaySync()\""

// Linux:
"command": "paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga"

Why the Notification hook feels late

The Notification hook's idle_prompt fires about a minute after Claude finished, if you haven't typed since. That's a reminder, not a "done" signal. Use Stop for done, and Notification with the permission_prompt matcher for "needs your OK", which fires after about six seconds of waiting.

The built-in alert

Codex can send a desktop notification (OSC 9, in terminals that support it) or ring the bell. By default it only does so when the terminal isn't in front:

# ~/.codex/config.toml
[tui]
notifications = true
notification_method = "bel"          # or "osc9" for a desktop notification
notification_condition = "always"    # default: "unfocused"

Run anything when a turn ends

notify runs a program of yours after every turn, with a JSON event as its last argument. A few lines of Python play a sound:

# ~/.codex/config.toml (at the very top, above every [table])
notify = ["python3", "/Users/you/.codex/notify.py"]

# ~/.codex/notify.py
import json, subprocess, sys
event = json.loads(sys.argv[-1])
if event.get("type") == "agent-turn-complete":
    subprocess.run(["afplay", "/System/Library/Sounds/Glass.aiff"])

Three things trip people up. notify must come before any [table] header, or TOML files it under that table. It only works in your user ~/.codex/config.toml, not a project's. And Codex runs one notify program, so a second one replaces the first.

A chime says something finished. With two or three agents running, it doesn't say which one, whether the tests passed, or what command is waiting for your OK, so you still walk back to the screen to find out.

You can script that yourself: have the hook pass the reply to the Mac's say command or Windows' speech engine. It works, in the system's voice, and you keep the scripts up to date as the hook formats change.

Or connect VoicedByMe once. It sets up the hooks for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Hermes Agent, and reads the reply, the permission request with its actual command, or the question, in a natural voice or your own, offline. Each agent can have its own voice, and it keeps quiet at night and while you're already looking at the agent.