BlackFlare Team Rollout and Notification Routing (Onboarding)

BlackFlare Team Rollout and Notification Routing (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Audit each Mac against the macOS-only requirement before purchase

   BlackFlare runs only on macOS and needs read-only Keychain access to display Claude usage. Confirm every delivery machine qualifies and note any Windows or Linux laptops that will sit outside the monitored fleet.

2. 02

   Install the Free tier first and verify session detection

   Free covers menu bar status for Claude Code and Codex sessions, per-model usage bars, and switching model, permission mode, and effort from the menu. Confirm sessions register whether the developer works in a terminal, VS Code, or JetBrains before spending anything.

3. 03

   Upgrade to Premium ($8, up to 3 Macs) for the machines running long agent jobs

   Premium adds the keep-awake behavior during Claude Code or Codex runs plus desktop, Telegram, and Slack notifications. Budget one $8 purchase per three Macs and map which three seats go to the developers with the longest sessions.

4. 04

   Set default model, permission mode, and effort per developer from the menu bar

   Standardize these presets so agency delivery output is predictable across the team, then record each developer's baseline in the onboarding doc rather than leaving defaults implicit.

5. 05

   Wire the Slack webhook for shared visibility and Telegram for on-call

   Slack notifications can reach the whole team, which suits a shared delivery channel; Telegram suits the single developer who steps away from the desk. Test that a session completion and an input-needed event both land in each channel.

6. 06

   Configure usage threshold alerts before the first client sprint

   Per-model usage bars with threshold alerts are the only early warning that a long run is burning budget. Set thresholds at the start of each retainer cycle, not after an overage.

7. 07

   Hand off a one-page runbook to the delivery lead

   Cover where notifications arrive, who owns each Mac's Premium seat, and how to read the usage bars. Keep the runbook inside the client engagement folder so a new contractor can pick up a session mid-run.