# ADR-0012: Pi-Powerline Footer — Status Bar

**Status:** Accepted
**Date:** 2026-05-13
**Package:** `pi-powerline-footer@0.5.4`
**Maintainer:** @nicobailon | **Repo:** github.com/nicobailon/pi-powerline-footer
**Last published:** 1 day ago | **Publish cadence:** ~2-3/day

## Problem

No persistent status bar. Git branch, token usage, and thinking state not visible at a glance.

## Decision

Powerline-style footer with:

- Git branch + status indicators
- Thinking mode indicator
- Sparkline token usage visualization (configurable presets)
- Arrow-segmented rendering

Config: `"powerline": "sparkline"` in `settings.json`.

## Alternatives

| Approach      | Why Rejected                    |
| ------------- | ------------------------------- |
| No status bar | No persistent status            |
| Homegrown     | Reinventing powerline rendering |

## Trade-offs

Occupies one terminal row. Sparkline preset adds minimal rendering overhead. Renders in terminal footer — doesn't consume context tokens.

## References

- [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/pi-powerline-footer)
- [Powerline](https://github.com/powerline/powerline) — original concept (Neovim, Vim, tmux)
