Token Dashboard puts Cursor and Claude Code usage on a 9.2-inch side screen

Token Dashboard came out of a simple annoyance: as people adopt more than one AI coding tool, usage limits have become a thing you have to keep checking. Existing tools such as Token Monitor already show this, but the author's objection is placement — anything drawn in the topmost layer of the screen gets in the way of other windows, and anything else can be covered up.

The build itself leans on hardware made for a different purpose. The TURZX display family was designed for PC status readouts, and the model chosen here is a 9.2-inch ultrawide bar at 1920×462 px that fits behind a keyboard or under a monitor. The article also notes the family comes in other shapes and sizes, from a 2.1-inch circular screen to 8.8-inch and 12.3-inch bars, so the same idea can be rearranged for a desk of any shape.

Technically, the interesting part is that the screen is not driven like a normal monitor. Instead of an HDMI signal, images are pushed over USB Bulk transfer as JPEG or PNG packets, and once an image arrives it stays on screen until the next one is sent — so updates only need to go out when a value changes. Each packet is a 512-byte header plus the image, with the first 504 bytes encrypted using DES-CBC with the shared key slv3tuzx, followed by a marker and the image body.

What makes this useful to anyone beyond the author is how narrow the gap is between reading about it and trying it. The article lays out the packet format, a minimal Go example that assembles the packet, and links to a detailed protocol write-up and the real implementation, while the app route needs only an installer and a USB connection. The main uncertainty sits on the hardware side: the author warns that equivalent-looking displays sold by other sellers may not work because of firmware and communication differences, so the outcome for a reader likely hinges on whether they can get a verified unit — or confirm for themselves that a cheaper one speaks the same protocol.