diff --git a/routes/_components/compose/LiteComposeBox.html b/routes/_components/compose/LiteComposeBox.html
index f0347d1..81e1a6d 100644
--- a/routes/_components/compose/LiteComposeBox.html
+++ b/routes/_components/compose/LiteComposeBox.html
@@ -13,6 +13,14 @@
       ref:textarea
       bind:value=inputText
     ></textarea>
+    <div class="compose-profile-length-gauge {{overLimit ? 'over-char-limit' : ''}}"
+         style="transform: scaleX({{inputLengthAsFractionOfMax}});"
+         aria-hidden="true"
+    ></div>
+    <span class="compose-profile-length {{overLimit ? 'over-char-limit' : ''}}"
+          aria-label="{{inputLengthLabel}}">
+      {{inputLengthToDisplay}}
+    </span>
     <button class="primary compose-profile-button">
       Toot!
     </button>
@@ -31,10 +39,11 @@
     grid-template-areas:
       "avatar display-name handle"
       "avatar input        input"
+      "avatar gauge        gauge"
+      "avatar length       length"
       "avatar button       button";
     grid-template-columns: min-content minmax(0, max-content) 1fr;
     grid-template-rows: min-content min-content min-content;
-    grid-row-gap: 10px;
     border-bottom: 1px solid var(--main-border);
     width: 560px;
     max-width: calc(100vw - 40px);
@@ -77,13 +86,40 @@
     padding: 5px;
     border: 1px solid var(--input-border);
     min-height: 75px;
+    margin-top: 10px;
     resize: none;
+    overflow: hidden;
   }
 
   .compose-profile-button {
     grid-area: button;
     justify-self: right;
     text-transform: uppercase;
+    margin-top: 10px;
+  }
+
+  .compose-profile-length-gauge {
+    grid-area: gauge;
+    height: 2px;
+    background: var(--main-theme-color);
+    margin-left: 5px;
+    transform-origin: left;
+  }
+
+  .compose-profile-length {
+    grid-area: length;
+    margin-top: 5px;
+    justify-self: right;
+    color: var(--main-theme-color);
+    font-size: 1.1em;
+  }
+
+  .compose-profile-length.over-char-limit {
+    color: var(--warning-color);
+  }
+
+  .compose-profile-length-gauge.over-char-limit {
+    background: var(--warning-color);
   }
 
   @media (max-width: 767px) {
@@ -107,6 +143,8 @@
   import debounce from 'lodash/debounce'
   import { mark, stop } from '../../_utils/marks'
 
+  const CHAR_LIMIT = 500
+
   export default {
     oncreate() {
       this.set({inputText: store.get('currentInputTextInCompose')})
@@ -137,7 +175,18 @@
     },
     store: () => store,
     computed: {
-      currentInputTextInCompose: ($currentInputTextInCompose) => $currentInputTextInCompose
+      currentInputTextInCompose: ($currentInputTextInCompose) => $currentInputTextInCompose,
+      inputLength: (inputText) => inputText ? inputText.length : 0,
+      inputLengthToDisplay: (inputLength) => (inputLength <= CHAR_LIMIT ? inputLength : CHAR_LIMIT - inputLength),
+      inputLengthAsFractionOfMax: (inputLength) => (Math.min(CHAR_LIMIT, inputLength)) / CHAR_LIMIT,
+      overLimit: (inputLength) => inputLength > CHAR_LIMIT,
+      inputLengthLabel: (overLimit, inputLengthToDisplay) => {
+        if (overLimit) {
+          return `${inputLengthToDisplay} characters over limit`
+        } else {
+          return `${inputLengthToDisplay} characters`
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 </script>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scss/themes/_base.scss b/scss/themes/_base.scss
index 21db38b..6c3a089 100644
--- a/scss/themes/_base.scss
+++ b/scss/themes/_base.scss
@@ -67,4 +67,6 @@
   --very-deemphasized-text-color: rgba(#666, 0.6);
 
   --status-direct-background: darken($body-bg-color, 5%);
+  --main-theme-color: $main-theme-color;
+  --warning-color: #e01f19;
 }
diff --git a/templates/2xx.html b/templates/2xx.html
index c5944c6..9c75138 100644
--- a/templates/2xx.html
+++ b/templates/2xx.html
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@
 
 	<style>
 /* auto-generated w/ build-sass.js */
-body{--button-primary-bg:#6081e6;--button-primary-text:#fff;--button-primary-border:#132c76;--button-primary-bg-active:#456ce2;--button-primary-bg-hover:#6988e7;--button-bg:#e6e6e6;--button-text:#333;--button-border:#a7a7a7;--button-bg-active:#bfbfbf;--button-bg-hover:#f2f2f2;--input-border:#dadada;--anchor-text:#4169e1;--main-bg:#fff;--body-bg:#e8edfb;--body-text-color:#333;--main-border:#dadada;--svg-fill:#4169e1;--form-bg:#f7f7f7;--form-border:#c1c1c1;--nav-bg:#4169e1;--nav-border:#214cce;--nav-a-border:#4169e1;--nav-a-selected-border:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg:#6d8ce8;--nav-svg-fill:#fff;--nav-text-color:#fff;--nav-a-selected-border-hover:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg-hover:#839deb;--nav-a-bg-hover:#577ae4;--nav-a-border-hover:#4169e1;--nav-svg-fill-hover:#fff;--nav-text-color-hover:#fff;--action-button-fill-color:#90a8ee;--action-button-fill-color-hover:#a2b6f0;--action-button-fill-color-active:#577ae4;--action-button-fill-color-pressed:#2351dc;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-hover:#3862e0;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-active:#1d44b8;--settings-list-item-bg:#fff;--settings-list-item-text:#4169e1;--settings-list-item-text-hover:#4169e1;--settings-list-item-border:#dadada;--settings-list-item-bg-active:#e6e6e6;--settings-list-item-bg-hover:#fafafa;--toast-bg:#333;--toast-border:#fafafa;--toast-text:#fff;--mask-bg:#333;--mask-svg-fill:#fff;--mask-opaque-bg:rgba(51,51,51,0.8);--loading-bg:#ededed;--deemphasized-text-color:#666;--focus-outline:#c5d1f6;--very-deemphasized-link-color:rgba(65,105,225,0.6);--very-deemphasized-text-color:rgba(102,102,102,0.6);--status-direct-background:#d2dcf8}
+body{--button-primary-bg:#6081e6;--button-primary-text:#fff;--button-primary-border:#132c76;--button-primary-bg-active:#456ce2;--button-primary-bg-hover:#6988e7;--button-bg:#e6e6e6;--button-text:#333;--button-border:#a7a7a7;--button-bg-active:#bfbfbf;--button-bg-hover:#f2f2f2;--input-border:#dadada;--anchor-text:#4169e1;--main-bg:#fff;--body-bg:#e8edfb;--body-text-color:#333;--main-border:#dadada;--svg-fill:#4169e1;--form-bg:#f7f7f7;--form-border:#c1c1c1;--nav-bg:#4169e1;--nav-border:#214cce;--nav-a-border:#4169e1;--nav-a-selected-border:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg:#6d8ce8;--nav-svg-fill:#fff;--nav-text-color:#fff;--nav-a-selected-border-hover:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg-hover:#839deb;--nav-a-bg-hover:#577ae4;--nav-a-border-hover:#4169e1;--nav-svg-fill-hover:#fff;--nav-text-color-hover:#fff;--action-button-fill-color:#90a8ee;--action-button-fill-color-hover:#a2b6f0;--action-button-fill-color-active:#577ae4;--action-button-fill-color-pressed:#2351dc;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-hover:#3862e0;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-active:#1d44b8;--settings-list-item-bg:#fff;--settings-list-item-text:#4169e1;--settings-list-item-text-hover:#4169e1;--settings-list-item-border:#dadada;--settings-list-item-bg-active:#e6e6e6;--settings-list-item-bg-hover:#fafafa;--toast-bg:#333;--toast-border:#fafafa;--toast-text:#fff;--mask-bg:#333;--mask-svg-fill:#fff;--mask-opaque-bg:rgba(51,51,51,0.8);--loading-bg:#ededed;--deemphasized-text-color:#666;--focus-outline:#c5d1f6;--very-deemphasized-link-color:rgba(65,105,225,0.6);--very-deemphasized-text-color:rgba(102,102,102,0.6);--status-direct-background:#d2dcf8;--main-theme-color:#4169e1;--warning-color:#e01f19}
 body{margin:0;font-family:system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Fira Sans, Droid Sans, Helvetica Neue;font-size:14px;line-height:1.4;color:var(--body-text-color);background:var(--body-bg);position:fixed;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;top:0}.container{overflow-y:auto;overflow-x:hidden;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch;will-change:transform;position:absolute;top:72px;left:0;right:0;bottom:0}@media (max-width: 767px){.container{top:62px}}main{position:relative;width:602px;max-width:100vw;padding:0;box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px auto 15px;background:var(--main-bg);border:1px solid var(--main-border);border-radius:1px}@media (max-width: 767px){main{margin:5px auto 15px}}h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{margin:0 0 0.5em 0;font-weight:400;line-height:1.2}h1{font-size:2em}a{color:var(--anchor-text);text-decoration:none}a:visited{color:var(--anchor-text)}a:hover{text-decoration:underline}input{border:1px solid var(--input-border);padding:5px;box-sizing:border-box}button{font-size:1.2em;background:var(--button-bg);border-radius:2px;padding:10px 15px;border:1px solid var(--button-border);cursor:pointer;color:var(--button-text)}button:hover{background:var(--button-bg-hover)}button:active{background:var(--button-bg-active)}button[disabled]{opacity:0.35;pointer-events:none;cursor:not-allowed}button.primary{border:1px solid var(--button-primary-border);background:var(--button-primary-bg);color:var(--button-primary-text)}button.primary:hover{background:var(--button-primary-bg-hover)}button.primary:active{background:var(--button-primary-bg-active)}p,label,input{font-size:1.3em}ul,li,p{padding:0;margin:0}.hidden{opacity:0}*:focus{outline:2px solid var(--focus-outline)}button::-moz-focus-inner{border:0}input:required,input:invalid{box-shadow:none}
-body.offline,body.theme-hotpants.offline,body.theme-majesty.offline,body.theme-oaken.offline,body.theme-scarlet.offline,body.theme-seafoam.offline,body.theme-gecko.offline{--button-primary-bg:#ababab;--button-primary-text:#fff;--button-primary-border:#4d4d4d;--button-primary-bg-active:#9c9c9c;--button-primary-bg-hover:#b0b0b0;--button-bg:#e6e6e6;--button-text:#333;--button-border:#a7a7a7;--button-bg-active:#bfbfbf;--button-bg-hover:#f2f2f2;--input-border:#dadada;--anchor-text:#999;--main-bg:#fff;--body-bg:#fafafa;--body-text-color:#333;--main-border:#dadada;--svg-fill:#999;--form-bg:#f7f7f7;--form-border:#c1c1c1;--nav-bg:#999;--nav-border:gray;--nav-a-border:#999;--nav-a-selected-border:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg:#b3b3b3;--nav-svg-fill:#fff;--nav-text-color:#fff;--nav-a-selected-border-hover:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg-hover:#bfbfbf;--nav-a-bg-hover:#a6a6a6;--nav-a-border-hover:#999;--nav-svg-fill-hover:#fff;--nav-text-color-hover:#fff;--action-button-fill-color:#c7c7c7;--action-button-fill-color-hover:#d1d1d1;--action-button-fill-color-active:#a6a6a6;--action-button-fill-color-pressed:#878787;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-hover:#949494;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-active:#737373;--settings-list-item-bg:#fff;--settings-list-item-text:#999;--settings-list-item-text-hover:#999;--settings-list-item-border:#dadada;--settings-list-item-bg-active:#e6e6e6;--settings-list-item-bg-hover:#fafafa;--toast-bg:#333;--toast-border:#fafafa;--toast-text:#fff;--mask-bg:#333;--mask-svg-fill:#fff;--mask-opaque-bg:rgba(51,51,51,0.8);--loading-bg:#ededed;--deemphasized-text-color:#666;--focus-outline:#bfbfbf;--very-deemphasized-link-color:rgba(153,153,153,0.6);--very-deemphasized-text-color:rgba(102,102,102,0.6);--status-direct-background:#ededed}
+body.offline,body.theme-hotpants.offline,body.theme-majesty.offline,body.theme-oaken.offline,body.theme-scarlet.offline,body.theme-seafoam.offline,body.theme-gecko.offline{--button-primary-bg:#ababab;--button-primary-text:#fff;--button-primary-border:#4d4d4d;--button-primary-bg-active:#9c9c9c;--button-primary-bg-hover:#b0b0b0;--button-bg:#e6e6e6;--button-text:#333;--button-border:#a7a7a7;--button-bg-active:#bfbfbf;--button-bg-hover:#f2f2f2;--input-border:#dadada;--anchor-text:#999;--main-bg:#fff;--body-bg:#fafafa;--body-text-color:#333;--main-border:#dadada;--svg-fill:#999;--form-bg:#f7f7f7;--form-border:#c1c1c1;--nav-bg:#999;--nav-border:gray;--nav-a-border:#999;--nav-a-selected-border:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg:#b3b3b3;--nav-svg-fill:#fff;--nav-text-color:#fff;--nav-a-selected-border-hover:#fff;--nav-a-selected-bg-hover:#bfbfbf;--nav-a-bg-hover:#a6a6a6;--nav-a-border-hover:#999;--nav-svg-fill-hover:#fff;--nav-text-color-hover:#fff;--action-button-fill-color:#c7c7c7;--action-button-fill-color-hover:#d1d1d1;--action-button-fill-color-active:#a6a6a6;--action-button-fill-color-pressed:#878787;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-hover:#949494;--action-button-fill-color-pressed-active:#737373;--settings-list-item-bg:#fff;--settings-list-item-text:#999;--settings-list-item-text-hover:#999;--settings-list-item-border:#dadada;--settings-list-item-bg-active:#e6e6e6;--settings-list-item-bg-hover:#fafafa;--toast-bg:#333;--toast-border:#fafafa;--toast-text:#fff;--mask-bg:#333;--mask-svg-fill:#fff;--mask-opaque-bg:rgba(51,51,51,0.8);--loading-bg:#ededed;--deemphasized-text-color:#666;--focus-outline:#bfbfbf;--very-deemphasized-link-color:rgba(153,153,153,0.6);--very-deemphasized-text-color:rgba(102,102,102,0.6);--status-direct-background:#ededed;--main-theme-color:#999;--warning-color:#e01f19}
 
 </style>