Six weeks ago I started building TokenPulse after getting cut off mid-debugging session by Claude's rate limit one too many times. The extension is now live with active users across five platforms. Here is what I actually learned — the engineering decisions, product mistakes, and things I would do differently.
The problem was real but I almost built the wrong solution
My initial instinct was to build a browser extension that scraped Claude's rate limit data and sent it to a backend that users could check via a dashboard. I spent three days on the backend architecture before I stopped and asked the obvious question: why would someone open a separate dashboard to check information they need while they are already inside Claude?
The right solution was obvious once I asked it: inject the information directly into the page they are already on. A slim bar above the input box. Always visible, never intrusive, no tab switching required.
The lesson: solve the problem in the context where it actually occurs. Do not add steps.
