Desktop application
Get more out of Claude Code Desktop: parallel sessions with Git isolation, drag-and-drop pane layout, integrated terminal and file editor, side chats, computer use, Dispatch sessions from your phone, visual diff review, app previews, PR monitoring, connectors, and enterprise configuration.
The Claude Desktop app has three tabs: Chat for conversations, Cowork for Dispatch and longer agentic work, and Code for software development. This page is the reference for the Code tab.
Universal build for Intel and Apple Silicon
For x64 processors
apt or .deb for Ubuntu and Debian
For Windows ARM64, download the ARM64 installer. On Linux, install with apt; see Claude Desktop on Linux.
After installing, launch Claude, sign in, and click the Code tab. The first time you open it on Windows, you need Git for Windows installed; restart the app after installing it. For a walkthrough of your first session, see the Get started guide.
In the Code tab, each conversation is a session: it has its own chat history, project folder, and code changes, independent of any other session. The sidebar lists your sessions and lets you run several in parallel. Within a session you can:
- Review and comment on diffs, then watch the resulting PR through CI
- Preview your running app in the Browser pane while Claude verifies its own changes, and open external sites alongside it
- Watch Claude run and test your iOS app in the iOS Simulator pane
- Arrange panes for the chat, diff, browser, terminal, and file editor side by side
- Ask a side question that uses the session's context without derailing it
- Let Claude check on, message, or archive your other sessions
- Connect external tools like GitHub, Slack, and Linear
- Let Claude open apps and control your screen
- Run on your machine, in the cloud, or over SSH
For scheduled recurring work, keyboard shortcuts, or sending tasks from your phone, see the linked pages and sections. If you already use the terminal-based CLI, see the CLI comparison for what carries over.