Claude Code GUI for Mac: the official app and other options

Anthropic ships its own GUI for Claude Code on the Mac: the Code tab in the Claude desktop app, a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel that includes Claude Code, so you don't need the CLI or Node.js. If you would rather stay in your editor, the VS Code extension (which also installs in Cursor) and the JetBrains plugin put Claude Code in a panel beside your code. Third-party apps are worth a look when you want a way of organising the work that these don't offer.

The Claude desktop app is the official Claude Code GUI

Besides chat and Cowork, the Claude desktop app has a Code tab, which is Claude Code. The desktop quickstart covers setup: download the macOS build, sign in, and click Code at the top of the sidebar. The Code tab needs a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise subscription; on a free account, clicking it shows an upgrade prompt.

To start a session, use the row of controls under the prompt box:

1. Click the environment selector and pick the top entry under Local, so Claude works on your Mac.
2. Click the project folder control, choose Open folder… and select your repository.
3. Pick a permission mode (Manual, Accept edits, Plan or Auto) and a model.
4. Type the task and press Enter.

Instead of Local, the same selector can start a Cloud session that keeps running after you close the app, or an SSH session on a remote machine.

What the desktop app adds over the terminal

According to the desktop documentation, it runs the same engine as the CLI, so the things a GUI is for are mostly review and juggling:

• Parallel sessions in one window. Each session has its own chat history and project folder. Cmd+N starts another, Ctrl+Tab switches between them, and Option-clicking a session in the sidebar opens it side by side in split view.
• A worktree per session. In a Git repository, turn on Worktree before you start a session to give it an isolated checkout in <project-root>/.claude/worktrees/. It is off by default, so two sessions on one folder edit the same files unless you turn it on.
• A diff view you can comment on. Click the +12 -1 line count to review changes file by file. Hover a line, click the + beside its number, write a comment, and send all comments with Cmd+Enter. Claude revises and shows a new diff.
• Panes you arrange yourself. Chat, diff, browser, terminal and file panes can be dragged into any layout. Ctrl+` opens a terminal in the session's working directory, and the Browser pane shows your dev server so Claude can check its own changes.
• Pull request tracking. After Claude opens a PR, the app shows its CI checks and can fix failures. This needs the GitHub CLI (gh) installed and signed in.
• Notifications. The app sends a macOS notification when a session finishes and you aren't looking at it. In the terminal you have to set this up with hooks.

Computer use, where Claude operates other apps on your Mac, is also available from the desktop app as a research preview. It requires a Pro or Max plan and macOS 14 or later, is off by default, and isn't available on Team or Enterprise plans.

What the desktop app leaves out

The documentation lists what you give up compared with the CLI. Desktop is interactive only, so there is no --print or --output-format and no Agent SDK; scripts and CI still need the CLI. It has no inline code completions. Agent teams, where a lead agent hands tasks to teammates, run in the CLI only. Commands that open an interactive panel in the terminal behave differently: those with no argument form, such as /permissions, reply that they aren't available, so you edit settings files instead, while /config opens the app's settings.

You don't have to choose one. Desktop and the CLI can run at the same time on the same project and read the same CLAUDE.md, MCP servers, hooks, skills and settings.json. They keep separate session lists, but you can move work across. Running /desktop in a terminal session saves it, reopens it in the app and exits the CLI; it needs you signed in with a Claude subscription rather than an API key. In the other direction, close the session in the terminal, then type /resume in a local Desktop session to pick it up.

The VS Code and JetBrains extensions put the GUI in your editor

If you already live in an editor, an extension is the shorter path. The VS Code extension needs VS Code 1.94.0 or later and installs in Cursor too. Search for "Claude Code" in the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X). It gives you a chat panel with plan review, inline diffs, @-mentions with line ranges, and several conversations in separate tabs or windows. It bundles a private copy of the CLI for the panel, which means it does not put claude on your PATH; install the CLI separately if you also want it in the integrated terminal. Conversations are shared with the CLI, so claude --resume finds them.

The JetBrains plugin works differently: it runs the claude command in the IDE's terminal and connects to it, so it is a terminal session with IDE features attached rather than a separate chat panel. It does not bundle the CLI, so install that first. On a Mac, Cmd+Esc opens Claude Code, and its edits open in the IDE's diff viewer.

Claude Code on the web needs no install at all

Claude Code on the web, at claude.ai/code, runs sessions on Anthropic's infrastructure instead of your Mac. By default it clones your repository from GitHub, and it keeps working after you close your laptop, and you can check on it from the desktop app or your phone. It is available on Pro, Max and Team plans and for some Enterprise seats, and it counts toward the same usage limits as everything else. It suits long tasks that need little steering, rather than work that depends on apps or services running on your Mac.

Which official option to pick

If you do want the CLI as well, it installs with curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code and needs macOS 13.0 or later, according to the setup documentation. Homebrew installs don't update themselves by default, so run brew upgrade claude-code now and then.

Third-party Claude Code GUIs for the Mac

Independent apps run Claude Code with your own Claude subscription or API key, so your plan's limits or API billing still apply. They earn their place when they organise work in a way the official app doesn't. Two examples, from their own sites:

• Conductor runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode in parallel, and gives each task its own workspace, branch, terminal, diff and review path. It is macOS only. Its Free plan covers local workspaces with your own subscriptions; Pro costs $50 a month and adds cloud workspaces.
• Nimbalyst is an open source workspace, free for individuals, for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows and Linux. It works with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Copilot agents, and adds a session manager with searchable history, task tracking, an editor, a terminal and worktrees.

More of them, with prices and licences checked against each vendor's site, are in Conductor alternatives and infinite canvas apps for AI coding agents.

When you work on several projects at once

The official app organises work by session: a list in the sidebar, with split view or separate windows when you want two side by side. That fits one project with a few parallel tasks. It fits less well when a product, a client project and an experiment are all running, and each has its own agents, terminals, browser tabs and notes.

That is the case Armadai is built for. It is a native macOS app that turns each project folder into a workspace on one infinite canvas, holding that project's Claude Code, Codex, Grok or Cursor agents beside a full IDE, browser, terminals, notes and a task board. A sidebar shows which agent is working, idle or waiting for approval across every project, and for many requests you can approve from there without leaving the workspace you're in. Armadai runs Claude Code with your own account, so it does not replace your Claude plan. It costs $20 a month or $120 a year after a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers that needs no card, and it runs on macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Armadai has no free plan; if a single project is all you run, the Claude desktop app is the better fit. Plans and details are on the pricing section, and running Claude Code across multiple projects covers the ways to do this without any extra app.