Skillintermediate

Use Claude Code Desktop

> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Claude Code Knowledge Pack7/10/2026

Overview

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Use Claude Code Desktop

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 Code tab within the Claude Desktop app lets you use Claude Code through a graphical interface instead of the terminal.

Universal build for Intel and Apple Silicon



For x64 processors

For Windows ARM64, download the ARM64 installer. Linux is not supported.

After installing, launch Claude, sign in, and click the Code tab. See the Get started guide for a full walkthrough of your first session.

Desktop adds these capabilities on top of the standard Claude Code experience:

Parallel sessions with automatic Git worktree isolation
Drag-and-drop layout with an integrated terminal, file editor, and preview pane
Side chats that branch off without affecting the main thread
Visual diff review with inline comments
Live app preview with dev servers, HTML files, and PDFs
Computer use to open apps and control your screen on macOS and Windows
GitHub PR monitoring with auto-fix, auto-merge, and auto-archive
Dispatch integration: send a task from your phone, get a session here
Scheduled tasks that run Claude on a recurring schedule
Connectors for GitHub, Slack, Linear, and more
Local, SSH, and cloud environments

The workspace layout, terminal, file editor, side chats, and view modes described on this page require Claude Desktop v1.2581.0 or later. Open Claude → Check for Updates on macOS or Help → Check for Updates on Windows to update.

This page covers working with code, arranging your workspace, computer use, managing sessions, extending Claude Code, and configuration. It also includes a CLI comparison and troubleshooting.

Start a session

Before you send your first message, configure four things in the prompt area:

Environment: choose where Claude runs. Select Local for your machine, Remote for Anthropic-hosted cloud sessions, or an SSH connection for a remote machine you manage. See environment configuration.
Project folder: select the folder or repository Claude works in. For remote sessions, you can add multiple repositories.
Model: pick a model from the dropdown next to the send button. You can change this during the session.
Permission mode: choose how much autonomy Claude has from the mode selector. You can change this during the session.

Type your task and press Enter to start. Each session tracks its own context and changes independently.

Work with code

Give Claude the right context, control how much it does on its own, and review what it changed.

Use the prompt box

Type what you want Claude to do and press Enter to send. Claude reads your project files, makes changes, and runs commands based on your permission mode. You can interrupt Claude at any point: click the stop button or type your correction and press Enter. Claude stops what it's doing and adjusts based on your input.

The + button next to the prompt box gives you access to file attachments, skills, connectors, and plugins.

Add files and context to prompts

The prompt box supports two ways to bring in external context:

@mention files: type @ followed by a filename to add a file to the conversation context. Claude can then read and reference that file. @mention is not available in remote sessions.
Attach files: attach images, PDFs, and other files to your prompt using the attachment button, or drag and drop files directly into the prompt. This is useful for sharing screenshots of bugs, design mockups, or reference documents.

Choose a permission mode

Permission modes control how much autonomy Claude has during a session: whether it asks before editing files, running commands, or both. You can switch modes at any time using the mode selector next to the send button. Start with Ask permissions to see exactly what Claude does, then move to Auto accept edits or Plan mode as you get comfortable.

Mode	Settings key	Behavior
Ask permissions	`default`	Claude asks before editing files or running commands. You see a diff and can accept or reject each change. Recommended for new users.
Auto accept edits	`acceptEdits`	Claude auto-accepts file edits and common filesystem commands like `mkdir`, `touch`, and `mv`, but still asks before running other terminal commands. Use this when you trust file changes and want faster iteration.
Plan mode	`plan`	Claude reads files and runs commands to explore, then proposes a plan without editing your source code. Good for complex tasks where you want to review the approach first.
Auto	`auto`	Claude executes all actions with background safety checks that verify alignment with your request. Reduces permission prompts while maintaining oversight. Currently a research preview. Available on Max, Team, Enterprise, and API plans. Requires Claude Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6, or Opus 4.7 on Team, Enterprise, and API plans; Claude Opus 4.7 only on Max plans. Not available on Pro plans or third-party providers. Enable in your Settings → Claude Code.
Bypass permissions	`bypassPermissions`	Claude runs without any permission prompts, equivalent to `--dangerously-skip-permissions` in the CLI. Enable in your Settings → Claude Code under "Allow bypass permissions mode". Only use this in sandboxed containers or VMs. Enterprise admins can disable this option.

The dontAsk permission mode is available only in the CLI.

Start complex tasks in Plan mode so Claude maps out an approach before making changes. Once you approve the plan, switch to Auto accept edits or Ask permissions to execute it. See explore first, then plan, then code for more on this workflow.

Remote sessions support Auto accept edits and Plan mode. Ask permissions is not available because remote sessions auto-accept file edits by default, and Bypass permissions is not available because the remote environment is already sandboxed.

Enterprise admins can restrict which permission modes are available. See enterprise configuration for details.

Preview your app

Claude can start a dev server and open an embedded browser to verify its changes. This works for frontend web apps as well as backend servers: Claude can test API endpoints, view server logs, and iterate on issues it finds. In most cases, Claude starts the server automatically after editing project files. You can also ask Claude to preview at any time. By default, Claude auto-verifies changes after every edit.

The preview pane can also open static HTML files, PDFs, and images from your project. Click an HTML, PDF, or image path in the chat to open it in preview.

From the preview pane, you can:

Interact with your running app directly in the embedded browser
Watch Claude verify its own changes automatically: it takes screenshots, inspects the DOM, clicks elements, fills forms, and fixes issues it finds
Start or stop servers from the Preview dropdown in the session toolbar
Persist cookies and local storage across server restarts by selecting Persist sessions in the dropdown, so you don't have to re-login during development
Edit the server configuration or stop all servers at once

Claude creates the initial server configuration based on your project. If your app uses a custom dev command, edit .claude/launch.json to match your setup. See Configure preview servers for the full reference.

To clear saved session data, toggle Persist preview sessions off in Settings → Claude Code. To disable preview entirely, toggle off Preview in Settings → Claude Code.

Review changes with diff view

After Claude makes changes to your code, the diff view lets you review modifications file by file before creating a pull request.

When Claude changes files, a diff stats indicator appears showing the number of lines added and removed, such as +12 -1. Click this indicator to open the diff viewer, which displays a file list on the left and the changes for each file on the right.

To comment on specific lines, click any line in the diff to open a comment box. Type your feedback and press Enter to add the comment. After adding comments to multiple lines, submit all comments at once:

macOS: press Cmd+Enter
Windows: press Ctrl+Enter

Claude reads your comments and makes the requested changes, which appear as a new diff you can review.

Review your code

In the diff view, click Review code in the top-right toolbar to ask Claude to evaluate the changes before you commit. Claude examines the current diffs and leaves comments directly in the diff view. You can respond to any comment or ask Claude to revise.

The review focuses on high-signal issues: compile errors, definite logic errors, security vulnerabilities, and obvious bugs. It does not flag style, formatting, pre-existing issues, or anything a linter would catch.

Monitor pull request status

After you open a pull request, a CI status bar appears in the session. Claude Code uses the GitHub CLI to poll check results and surface failures.

Auto-fix: when enabled, Claude automatically attempts to fix failing CI checks by reading the failure output and iterating.
Auto-merge: when enabled, Claude merges the PR once all checks pass. The merge method is squash. Auto-merge must be enabled in your GitHub repository settings for this to work.

Use the Auto-fix and Auto-merge toggles in the CI status bar to enable either option. Claude Code also sends a desktop notification when CI finishes. To archive the session automatically once the PR merges or closes, turn on auto-archive in Settings → Claude Code.

PR monitoring requires the GitHub CLI (gh) to be installed and authenticated on your machine. If gh is not installed, Desktop prompts you to install it the first time you try to create a PR.

Arrange your workspace

The desktop app is built around panes you can arrange in any layout: chat, diff, preview, terminal, file, plan, tasks, and subagent. Drag a pane by its header to reposition it, or drag a pane edge to resize it. Press Cmd+\\ on macOS or Ctrl+\\ on Windows to close the focused pane. Open additional panes from the Views menu in the session toolbar.

Run commands in the terminal

The integrated terminal lets you run commands alongside your session without switching to another app. Open it from the Views menu or press **Ctrl+\** on macOS or Windows. The terminal opens in your session's working directory and shares the same environment as Claude, so commands like npm testorgit status` see the same files Claude is editing. The terminal is available in local sessions only.