---
title: CodexBar
---


[CodexBar](https://codexbar.app) is a macOS menu-bar app that shows your AI provider usage at a glance. It ships with an official **CrossModel** provider, so once you add your API key it keeps your wallet balance and today / this-week / this-month spend one click away in the menu bar — no dashboard tab required.

Unlike the other tools here, CodexBar doesn't route your API calls. It's a **read-only monitor**: it polls two account endpoints and never sees your prompts, completions, or upstream provider keys.

<Screenshot src="/integrations/codexbar-crossmodel-en.png" alt="CodexBar menu bar showing the CrossModel tile with balance and today/week/month spend" maxWidth="340px" />

## What it shows

- **Balance** — your prepaid wallet balance, optionally pinned in the menu bar itself.
- **Spend** — cost for the current UTC day, ISO week, and calendar month.
- **Spend chart** — day / week / month bars in the inline dashboard.

## Quickstart

### 1. Install CodexBar

Download it from [codexbar.app](https://codexbar.app), or via Homebrew:

```bash
brew install --cask codexbar
```

### 2. Create an API key

Sign in to the [Console](/console/api-keys) and create a key that starts with `cm-` on the **API Keys** page. The key is shown only once, so copy it somewhere safe.

<Callout type="info">
  Create a **dedicated key** for CodexBar. The account endpoints are read-only — this key can watch your balance without being able to spend more than any of your other keys, and you can revoke it independently if a laptop is lost.
</Callout>

### 3. Add the key to CodexBar

In the app: **Settings → Providers → CrossModel**, paste your `cm-` key, and enable *Show CrossModel usage*.

Or from the command line:

```bash
printf '%s' "cm-YOUR_KEY" | codexbar config set-api-key --provider crossmodel --stdin
```

Or export an environment variable before launching:

```bash
export CROSSMODEL_API_KEY="cm-YOUR_KEY"
```

That's it — the CrossModel tile now shows your balance and spend.

## CLI usage

CodexBar can print the same numbers in your terminal:

```bash
codexbar --provider crossmodel
codexbar -p cm   # alias
```

## Environment variables

| Variable | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| `CROSSMODEL_API_KEY` | Your CrossModel API key (required). |
| `CROSSMODEL_API_URL` | Override the base API URL (optional). Defaults to `https://api.crossmodel.ai/v1`; loopback HTTP is allowed for local testing. |

## How it works

CodexBar reads two read-only, API-key-authenticated endpoints:

- **`GET /v1/credits`** — wallet balance (`balance_micro`), `currency`, and any in-flight holds (`uncollected_micro`). Amounts are integer micro units (1 unit of currency = 1,000,000 micro).
- **`GET /v1/usage`** — `currency` plus `cost_micro`, `prompt_tokens`, `completion_tokens`, `total_tokens`, and `request_count` for the current day, week, and month.

The balance call is required; the usage call is best-effort and won't block the balance if it's slow. Values are cached on our side and may be up to ~60 seconds stale, which is well within CodexBar's polling interval.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | What to check |
|---------|---------------|
| No balance shown | Confirm the `cm-` key is set in **Settings → Providers → CrossModel** (or via `CROSSMODEL_API_KEY`) and is still active in the [Console](/console/api-keys). |
| Balance shows, spend doesn't | The `/usage` call is best-effort; give it a moment, or check that CodexBar can reach `https://api.crossmodel.ai/v1`. |
| Numbers look stale | Usage is cached up to ~60s. Use **⌘R** in the menu to force a refresh. |