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desktop-quickstart.md 2026-10-22 22:58 UTC to 2026-10-23 22:59 UTC

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Get started with the desktop app

Install the Claude desktop app, open the Code tab, and start your first Claude Code session on a project folder on your computer.

The desktop app gives you Claude Code with a graphical interface. You can ask Claude to work on the code in a folder on your computer and review its changes without using a terminal.

Claude Code is in the Code tab at the top of the app's sidebar. This page walks through installing the app and starting your first session there. Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription.

Download for macOS

Universal build for Intel and Apple Silicon

Download for Windows

For x64 processors

Get Claude for Linux (beta)

apt or .deb for Ubuntu and Debian

For Windows ARM64, download the ARM64 installer. On Linux, install with apt; see Claude Desktop on Linux.

[!NOTE]

These cases are covered on other pages:

Install

1. Install and sign in

On macOS and Windows, download the installer from the links above and run it. On Linux, follow the install steps in Claude Desktop on Linux. Launch Claude from your Applications folder on macOS, the Start menu on Windows, or your application launcher on Linux, then sign in with your Anthropic account.

2. Open the Code tab

Click the Code tab at the top of the sidebar. If the tabs show only icons, hover over one to see its name. If a prompt or an error appears after you click Code, follow the matching fix:

The desktop app includes Claude Code, so you don't need to install Node.js or the CLI to use the Code tab.

Start your first session

With the Code tab open, choose a project and give Claude something to do.

1. Choose an environment and folder

In the row under the prompt box, click the first control, the environment selector, and select the top entry in the Local group. Then click the project folder control beside the environment selector, select Open folder…, and choose your project's directory.

If no environment selector appears under your prompt box, you have the earlier layout. See Check which layout you have.

[!TIP]

Start with a small project you know well. It's the fastest way to see what Claude Code can do.

You can also select:

  • Cloud: Run sessions in the cloud that continue even if you close the app. See Use Claude Code in the cloud for how cloud sessions work.
  • SSH: Connect to a remote machine over SSH, such as your own servers, cloud VMs, or dev containers. Add a connection first. Desktop installs Claude Code on the remote machine automatically the first time you connect. A running task can keep going while Desktop is disconnected, but with a Claude account it can stop when its sign-in expires.
  • WSL (Windows): Run the session inside a WSL 2 distribution; Claude Code, tools, and git execute on the Linux side with native paths.

2. Choose a model

Select a model from the model picker toward the right end of the row under the prompt box. See models for a comparison of the available models. You can change the model later from the model picker.

3. Tell Claude what to do

Type what you want Claude to do:

  • Find a TODO comment and fix it
  • Add tests for the main function
  • Create a CLAUDE.md with instructions for this codebase

A session is a conversation with Claude about your code. Each session tracks its own context and changes.

4. Review and accept changes

Check your permission mode in the row under the prompt box to see whether Claude waits for your approval:

  • Auto or Accept edits: Claude applies its file changes, and an indicator such as +12 -1 appears so you can review them in the diff view
  • Manual: Claude proposes each change and waits for your approval before applying it

In Manual mode, you'll see:

  1. A diff showing exactly what will change
  2. Buttons to approve or decline each change
  3. Real-time updates as Claude works through your request

Now what?

You've made your first edit. For the full reference on everything Desktop can do, see Use Claude Code Desktop. Here are some things to try next.

Interrupt and steer. You can redirect Claude at any point. Click the stop button to interrupt immediately, or type a correction and press Enter to send it without stopping the running action. Either way, you don't have to wait for it to finish or start over.

Give Claude more context. Type @filename in the prompt box to pull a specific file into the conversation. The more context Claude has, the better the results. See Add files and context.

Use skills for repeatable tasks. Type / or click + → Slash commands to browse built-in commands, custom skills, and plugin skills. Skills are reusable prompts you can invoke whenever you need them, like code review checklists or deployment steps.

Review changes before committing. After Claude edits files, a +12 -1 indicator appears. Click it to open the diff view, review modifications file by file, and comment on specific lines. Claude reads your comments and revises. To have Claude review the changes itself, enter /code-review in the prompt box.

Adjust how much control you have. Your permission mode sets how much Claude can do without asking for approval:

  • Auto: a classifier reviews actions in the background and blocks the risky ones instead of asking you.
  • Manual: Claude asks before editing files or running commands.
  • Accept edits: Claude auto-accepts file edits for faster iteration.
  • Plan: Claude proposes an approach without editing any files, which is useful before a large refactor.

Add plugins for more capabilities. Install plugins that add skills, agents, MCP servers, and more.

Arrange your workspace. Drag the chat, diff, terminal, file, and browser panes into whatever layout you want. Open the terminal with Ctrl+` to run commands alongside your session, or click a file path to open it. See Arrange your workspace.

Preview your app. When you run your dev server in the desktop, your app opens in the Browser pane, which can also open external sites. Claude can view the running app, test endpoints, inspect logs, and iterate on what it sees. See Preview your app.

Track your pull request. After opening a PR, Claude Code monitors CI check results and can automatically fix failures. See Monitor pull request status.

Put Claude on a schedule. Set up scheduled tasks to run Claude automatically on a recurring basis: a daily code review every morning, a weekly dependency audit, or a briefing that pulls from your connected tools.

Scale up when you're ready. Open parallel sessions from the sidebar to work on multiple tasks at once, optionally each in its own Git worktree, and open the tasks pane to watch the subagents and background commands a session has running. Open a side chat to ask a question without derailing the main thread. Send long-running work to the cloud so it continues even if you close the app, or move a session you already started to the cloud if a task takes longer than expected. Connect external tools like GitHub, Slack, and Linear to bring your workflow together.

What's next

  • Use Claude Code Desktop: permission modes, parallel sessions, diff view, connectors, and enterprise configuration
  • Coming from the CLI?: run Desktop and the CLI on the same project, and compare features, flag equivalents, and what's not available in Desktop
  • Troubleshooting: solutions to common errors and setup issues
  • Best practices: tips for writing effective prompts and getting the most out of Claude Code
  • Common workflows: tutorials for debugging, refactoring, testing, and more