What you need
- Multimeter for macOS 13 or later, $19.99 once.
- The direct download version of Multimeter from this site (the Script source isn’t in the Mac App Store version).
- The GitHub CLI, signed in:
brew install gh, thengh auth loginonce in Terminal.
Set it up
- Try the command in Terminal with your repository and branch. It prints a small JSON object with the number and a word for the menu:Command
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO -b main -L 1 --json status,conclusion -q '.[0] | if .status != "completed" then {value: 1, formatted: "running"} elif .conclusion == "success" then {value: 0, formatted: "passing"} else {value: 2, formatted: .conclusion} end' - Add a meter with the Script source and paste the command.
- Set Refresh every to 1 minute, the range to 0 to 2, and alerts to High values: warning at 1, critical at 2.
- Pick the Traffic Light face, and turn on Notify me when it goes critical to get a notification when a run fails.
Multimeter settings
In Customize This Meter… (from the meter’s menu):
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | Script |
| Command | the gh run list line above |
| Refresh every | 1 minute |
| Range | 0 to 2 |
| Alerts | High values: warning 1, critical 2, notify on critical |
| Label | CI |
| Face | Traffic Light, Mood or Label & Value |
Tested: Run on October 29, 2026 for oven-sh/bun on main: printed {"formatted":"passing","value":0} in about 3 to 5 seconds.
Script meters need the direct download version of Multimeter from this site, which is the one on sale now. How commands run, the PATH they see and the 10 second limit are in the Script meters guide.
Limits
- The GitHub CLI takes 2 to 5 seconds per call, well inside the 10 second limit. Refresh every minute or slower.
- Signed-in calls get 5,000 requests an hour; one meter every minute uses 60.
Variations
One workflow only
Add -w deploy.yml (or the workflow’s name) after the branch.
Count failed runs today
gh run list -R OWNER/REPO -L 50 --json conclusion,createdAt -q "[.[] | select(.conclusion == \"failure\" and (.createdAt | startswith(\"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)\")))] | length"Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The script didn’t print a number | The command failed or printed an error message instead. | Run the exact command in Terminal. If it works there, check for tools that live outside the meter’s PATH and use their full path (which tool). |
| The script took longer than 10 seconds | A slow network call. Multimeter stops scripts after 10 seconds. | Keep the -m timeout on curl, and refresh less often. |
| Scripts need the version from multimeterapp.com | This copy of Multimeter came from the Mac App Store, which can’t run scripts. | Use the direct download version, or run the command from cron or launchd and point a File meter at its output. |
| Works in Terminal, nothing in the meter | The GitHub CLI isn’t signed in for this user, or lives outside Homebrew’s folder. | Run gh auth status. If which gh isn’t in /opt/homebrew/bin or /usr/local/bin, use its full path. |
Questions
Does this work in the Mac App Store version?
Script meters need the direct download version from multimeterapp.com, because the App Store sandbox doesn’t let apps run your commands. Web Address, File and Sent Value meters work in every version.
Does it work for GitLab or other CI?
The same idea works with any CI that has a command line or an API. Or have the CI job itself send the result with a multimeter:// link; see the build status how-to.