diff --git a/lua/preview/init.lua b/lua/preview/init.lua
index e2cf794..5e220aa 100644
--- a/lua/preview/init.lua
+++ b/lua/preview/init.lua
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 ---@field clean fun(bufnr?: integer)
 ---@field toggle fun(bufnr?: integer)
 ---@field status fun(bufnr?: integer): preview.Status
+---@field statusline fun(bufnr?: integer): string
 ---@field get_config fun(): preview.Config
 local M = {}
 
@@ -179,6 +180,19 @@ function M.status(bufnr)
   return compiler.status(bufnr)
 end
 
+---@param bufnr? integer
+---@return string
+function M.statusline(bufnr)
+  bufnr = bufnr or vim.api.nvim_get_current_buf()
+  local s = compiler.status(bufnr)
+  if s.compiling then
+    return 'compiling'
+  elseif s.watching then
+    return 'watching'
+  end
+  return ''
+end
+
 M._test = {
   ---@diagnostic disable-next-line: assign-type-mismatch
   reset = function()
diff --git a/spec/init_spec.lua b/spec/init_spec.lua
index 5b97c8a..5c49276 100644
--- a/spec/init_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/init_spec.lua
@@ -100,4 +100,12 @@ describe('preview', function()
       helpers.delete_buffer(bufnr)
     end)
   end)
+
+  describe('statusline', function()
+    it('returns empty string when idle', function()
+      local bufnr = helpers.create_buffer({})
+      assert.are.equal('', preview.statusline(bufnr))
+      helpers.delete_buffer(bufnr)
+    end)
+  end)
 end)