Claude Code Desktop App: Sessions, Diffs, and Worktrees

Claude Code in the desktop app needs a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription. Downloads are on Anthropic's Claude Code docs: a universal build for macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows x64 and ARM64 installers, and a Linux beta installed through apt for Ubuntu and Debian. The app includes Claude Code, so you do not need Node.js or the CLI.

1. Install, launch, and sign in with your Anthropic account. 2. Click the Code tab. If it asks you to upgrade, your account has no paid plan. 3. Choose an environment (Local for your own files) and click Select folder. 4. Pick a model from the dropdown next to the send button. 5. Type a task, such as "Add tests for the main function".

What happens next depends on the permission mode in the selector next to the send button. In Manual, Claude proposes each change and waits for you to accept or reject it, so files are untouched until you approve. In Auto or Accept edits, Claude applies changes and a +12 -1 indicator appears for you to review afterwards. Plan proposes an approach without editing anything.

When you start a session you choose where Claude runs. Local uses your files directly. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-managed infrastructure by default and keep going even if you close the app or shut down your computer. SSH connects to a remote machine; Desktop installs Claude Code there automatically the first time you connect. On Windows, WSL runs the session inside a WSL 2 distribution, with tools and git on the Linux side.

The choice matters for what Claude can reach. A local session sees your uncommitted files, environment variables, and local services. A cloud session sees only what is in the GitHub repository it clones, plus what the cloud environment's setup script installs. An SSH session sees the remote machine, not your laptop.

After Claude edits files, a diff indicator such as +12 -1 appears. Click it (or press Cmd+Shift+D) to open the diff viewer, which lists changed files and shows each change.

The useful part is inline comments. Click any line in the diff to open a comment box, write what should change ("don't catch the error here"), and repeat for other lines. Press Cmd+Enter on macOS or Ctrl+Enter on Windows to send all comments at once. Claude reads them together, makes the changes, and the result appears as a new diff to review. This is faster and more precise than describing locations in chat.

For a second opinion, type /code-review in the prompt box. Claude reviews the changes and shows findings in a Code review card. After you open a pull request, Desktop can also monitor its CI checks, fix failures, or merge it once checks pass.

Each conversation in the Code tab is a session with its own chat history and project folder. The sidebar lists them; Cmd+N starts one and Ctrl+Tab cycles through them. Running two sessions on the same folder, though, means two agents editing the same files.

For Git repositories, select the worktree option next to the branch name when you start a session. The session then gets its own isolated copy of the project in a Git worktree, on its own branch, so its edits cannot collide with another session's. Worktrees are stored in <project-root>/.claude/worktrees/ by default; change that under Worktree location in Settings > Claude Code.

Two more tools help with parallel work. The tasks pane shows the subagents and background commands a session has running. A side chat (Cmd+;, or /btw) answers a quick question without adding it to the main session's context.

The chat, diff, terminal, file, and browser panes can be dragged into any layout.

• Terminal: press Ctrl+backtick (Ctrl on every platform) or click Terminal in the session's title bar. It opens in the session's working directory with the same environment as Claude. Available in local and SSH sessions.
• File editor: click a file path to open it. Available in local and SSH sessions; in cloud sessions, ask Claude to make the change.
• Browser pane: Claude can start your dev server and open the app in the Browser pane (Cmd+Shift+B) to check its own changes, configured through .claude/launch.json. It can also open external sites.
• Connectors: the + button next to the prompt adds connectors (MCP servers with a graphical setup, such as GitHub, Slack, or Linear), skills, and plugins.

Useful shortcuts (Ctrl instead of Cmd on Windows): Cmd+/ lists all shortcuts, Esc stops Claude's response, Cmd+Shift+M opens the permission-mode menu, Cmd+Shift+I the model menu, and Ctrl+O cycles view modes, including a verbose view.

Desktop and the CLI can run at the same time, even on the same project. They read the same configuration: CLAUDE.md and CLAUDE.local.md, ~/.claude/settings.json, MCP servers in ~/.claude.json or .mcp.json, hooks, and skills. A permission rule you add for the CLI applies in Desktop too.

Sessions can move between them, as the same session rather than a copy:

1# inside a CLI session: save it and open it in Desktop2/desktop3 4# from the shell (v2.1.285 or later)5claude --desktop --continue6claude --desktop --resume <session-id>

In the other direction, close the session in the terminal and type /resume in the Desktop prompt box to pick from sessions you started in the CLI. /desktop and claude --desktop need macOS or x64 Windows and a Claude subscription; they do not work with API key authentication or on Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Foundry.

Some things stay CLI-only: -p and --output-format for scripting, the dontAsk permission mode, agent teams, and per-session --allowedTools. Desktop connects to Anthropic's API by default; running the Code tab on a cloud provider or a gateway needs a separate third-party configuration.

Use a Git repository with a test command.

1. Open the Code tab, choose Local, select the repository, and set the mode to Manual. 2. Start a session with the worktree option and ask: "add input validation to one function and write a test for it". 3. Start a second worktree session on the same repository and ask for an unrelated change, such as updating the README. 4. In the first session, open the diff, leave two inline comments, and send them with Cmd+Enter. Review the new diff. 5. Open the terminal pane in each session and run git status. Each should show only its own changes, on its own branch. 6. In a terminal outside Desktop, run claude in the repository, then /desktop, and confirm the session opens in the app.

Pass criterion: the two sessions never touch each other's files, the inline comments produce a revised diff, and the CLI session continues in Desktop with its history.