Something to watch while Claude works.

Downtime opens a small window when Claude is working on something that takes more than a minute, in Chrome on any computer or in the Claude desktop app on a Mac. It plays a classic cartoon while you wait, passes along any question Claude has for you, and puts you back in your chat the moment the work is done.

2:25left, roughly
Comparing five vendors and building a scoring sheet

Claude asks: Weight price or support more heavily?

Fiddlesticks (1930)archive.org

Press play to watch, or answer Claude's question. Pick any cartoon from the reel below.

How it works

It shows up when the wait is long and gets out of the way when it's over.

  1. Claude sizes up the job

    Before a long task, Claude estimates how long it will take. Anything under a minute and Downtime stays closed.

  2. The window opens

    A floating window shows the countdown and starts the reel. It sits in the corner and never grabs your keyboard.

  3. Claude can ask you things

    If Claude needs a decision partway through, the question appears in the window and your answer goes straight back.

  4. You're back in the chat

    When Claude finishes, the window closes on its own and the Claude app comes to the front.

The reel

Twelve classic cartoons, all in the public domain.

These are the films Downtime plays while Claude works, streamed from the Internet Archive. Pick one to play it in the window above. Downtime remembers where you stopped.

    Questions

    What people ask first.

    Does Downtime read my chats?
    No. In Chrome it only checks whether Claude is in the middle of a reply and reads the chat's title. In the Mac app it only sees the one-line description and time estimate Claude sends. Nothing leaves your device. Read the privacy page.
    What do I need?
    Chrome on any computer, including a Chromebook, with Claude open at claude.ai. On a Mac, Downtime also works with the Claude desktop app, where Claude can send you its time estimate and ask you quick questions in the window.
    What plays in the window?
    Classic cartoons that are in the public domain, plus any video link you add yourself.
    When can I get it?
    Downtime for Chrome is on its way to the Chrome Web Store. Join the waitlist and we'll send you the link the day it's live.
    What does it cost?
    Nothing. Downtime is free.

    Coming to the Chrome Web Store. Join the waitlist to hear when it's out.