Claude Code Desktop vs CLI: Which Should You Use?

Use the Claude Code Desktop app if you want to run several sessions side by side, review diffs with inline comments, and preview your app without living in a terminal. Use the CLI if you script Claude Code, run it in CI or over SSH, or need features that exist only there, such as print mode, the Agent SDK, agent teams, and Amazon Bedrock or Microsoft Foundry. You rarely have to pick just one: both run the same engine, read the same CLAUDE.md, settings, hooks, skills, and MCP servers, and a terminal session can move into the app with /desktop.

This guide covers every surface Anthropic ships (the CLI, the Desktop app's Code tab, the VS Code and JetBrains extensions, cloud sessions on the web, and the Claude mobile app), what each one does differently, and where a multi-agent workspace fits once Claude is not your only agent. Every product claim was reviewed against first-party documentation on October 5, 2026.

The short answer#

Surface	Best for	Runs on	Parallel work	Main tradeoff
CLI (claude)	Terminal workflows, scripting, CI, SSH	macOS 13+, Windows 10 (1809)+, Ubuntu, Debian, Alpine	One session per terminal, --worktree, claude agents	You track windows, status, and review yourself
Desktop app (Code tab)	Visual review, parallel sessions, app preview	macOS, Windows (x64 and ARM64), Linux beta (Ubuntu and Debian)	Sidebar sessions with a worktree option	Interactive only; fewer permission modes and providers
VS Code extension	Staying inside VS Code, Cursor, or another fork	VS Code 1.94+ and compatible editors	Conversations in tabs or windows	A subset of commands; no ! shortcut or tab completion
JetBrains plugin	IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and similar IDEs	Wherever your IDE and the CLI run	Same as the CLI	Needs the CLI installed; it runs inside the IDE terminal
Web (cloud sessions)	Long tasks that should finish while you are offline	Any browser	Each cloud session runs independently	GitHub-first; only configuration committed to the repo loads
Mobile (Claude app)	Starting and steering work away from your desk	iOS, Android	Monitor cloud sessions and projects	A remote control, not a place where code runs

Anthropic's platforms overview describes the CLI as the full feature set and notes that the graphical surfaces trade some CLI-only features for visual review and tighter editor integration. Configuration, project memory, and MCP servers are shared across the local surfaces, so mixing them on one project is normal.

Every official surface, feature by feature#

Feature	CLI	Desktop	VS Code	JetBrains	Web (cloud)	Mobile
Parallel sessions	One per terminal; claude agents dashboard (research preview)	Sidebar sessions and split view	Tabs or windows	Same as CLI	Independent cloud sessions	Monitors cloud sessions and projects
Worktree isolation	claude --worktree <name>	Worktree option per session	Use the CLI flag in the integrated terminal	Same as CLI	Fresh clone per session	—
MCP servers	Settings files, claude mcp	Connectors UI or settings files	/mcp dialog	Same as CLI	Repo .mcp.json, not local-only servers	Whatever the driven session has
Hooks	Yes	Yes, shared settings	Yes, editable in the panel	Same as CLI	Repo settings only	—
Skills and plugins	All commands and skills; /plugin	Skills; plugin manager UI	A subset of commands and skills; plugin manager	Same as CLI	Repo skills and skills enabled on claude.ai; no plugins	—
Permission modes	All modes, including dontAsk	Manual, Accept edits, Plan, Auto; Bypass once enabled	Mode indicator in the panel	Same as CLI	Accept edits, Plan, Auto	Same as web for cloud sessions
Remote control	claude remote-control	/remote-control; Dispatch on Pro and Max	/remote-control	Same as CLI	Runs in the cloud, reachable from any device	Drives Remote Control and cloud sessions
Scripting	-p print mode, Agent SDK	No	No	Same as CLI	claude --cloud, routines	No
Platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	macOS, Windows, Linux beta	VS Code 1.94+, Cursor, other forks	JetBrains IDEs	Browser	iOS, Android

Two details in that table matter more than they look. First, auto mode, where a classifier reviews actions instead of you, is now the built-in starting mode for terminal and VS Code sessions on Claude Code v2.1.283 or later, according to the permission modes guide. Second, cloud sessions start from a fresh clone, so anything that lives only in your home directory, such as user-level skills, plugins, or MCP servers added at user scope, does not follow you there.

What the Desktop app adds#

The Claude desktop app has three tabs: Chat, Cowork, and Code. The Code tab is Claude Code with a graphical shell, and it bundles its own copy, so you do not need Node.js or the CLI installed to use it. On top of the terminal experience, the Desktop documentation lists:

• Parallel sessions in one window. Press Cmd+N for a new session and select the worktree option on Git repositories. Each session then works in its own checkout under .claude/worktrees/ by default, with a configurable location and an optional branch prefix. Cmd-click a second session to see two at once, and archive a session to remove its worktree.
• Visual review. Click the diff stats on a session to open a file-by-file diff, comment on specific lines, and submit the comments as one batch. The Review code button asks Claude for a second pass focused on compile errors, logic errors, security issues, and obvious bugs rather than style.
• App preview with self-checks. Claude can start your dev server, open it in the built-in Browser pane, take screenshots, click through the page, and fix what it finds.
• Pull request follow-through. Once a PR is open, a CI bar polls checks through the GitHub CLI and can auto-fix failures or squash-merge when everything passes.
• A layout you control. Chat, diff, browser, terminal, file, plan, and task panes can be dragged into any arrangement or popped out into separate windows.
• Desktop-only extras. Side chats with /btw, image and PDF attachments, scheduled tasks, an iOS Simulator pane on macOS, and on Pro and Max plans, computer use and Dispatch from your phone.
• More places to run. A session can run locally, as a cloud session, over SSH on a Linux or macOS machine (Desktop installs Claude Code there on first connect), or inside a WSL 2 distribution on Windows.

The app also sends an OS notification when a session finishes while you are viewing a different one.

What only the CLI does#

Anthropic's Desktop guide lists the features that stay in the terminal, and a few more follow from what a CLI is:

• Scripting and automation. Print mode (claude -p), --output-format, and the Agent SDK exist only in the CLI. Desktop is interactive only.
• Every permission mode. The CLI supports all of them, including dontAsk for allowlisted CI runs. Desktop offers Manual, Accept edits, Plan, and Auto, plus Bypass after you turn it on.
• Third-party providers. Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, and Microsoft Foundry work in the CLI and the IDE extensions. Desktop talks to Anthropic's API by default; it supports gateways, and Anthropic's separate Claude Desktop on 3P offering runs the Code tab on other providers.
• Agent teams. Coordinated teams with a lead and a shared task list are a CLI feature, still experimental and off by default. In Desktop, Anthropic points you to dynamic workflows and cross-session messaging instead.
• Terminal-dialog commands. Commands that open an interactive panel, such as /permissions, do not work in the Code tab. Edit the settings files or run them from the CLI.
• Any machine with a shell. SSH into a build box, run inside tmux, or start Claude in a container. Anthropic recommends the CLI on Fedora, Arch, and other distributions the Linux desktop beta does not cover.
• Agent view. claude agents opens a terminal dashboard that dispatches background sessions and shows which ones need you. It is a research preview, documented in Anthropic's parallel agents guide.

Move a session between the CLI and the app#

You can start in one surface and finish in the other without losing context:

1. In a running terminal session, type /desktop. Claude saves the session, opens it in the app, and exits the CLI. This works on macOS and x64 Windows when you sign in with a Claude subscription, not with an API key or a cloud provider.
2. From your shell, claude --desktop opens the app on the current directory. Add --continue for the latest conversation there, or --resume with a session ID from /status. It requires Claude Code v2.1.285 or later.
3. To go the other way, type /resume in a local Desktop session. It lists the sessions you started from the CLI on that computer, and it continues the same session rather than a copy, so claude --resume still finds it afterward.

Where the VS Code and JetBrains extensions fit#

The VS Code extension is a graphical panel for VS Code 1.94 or later, and it also installs in Cursor and other forks through Open VSX. You can review and edit plans before accepting them, rewind code or fork the conversation from checkpoints, open conversations in separate tabs or windows, and manage MCP servers with /mcp and plugins with /plugins. It bundles a private copy of the CLI for its panel, so typing claude in the integrated terminal still needs the standalone install. The extension and the CLI share conversation history: claude --resume in a terminal can pick up a conversation you started in the panel.

The JetBrains plugin works differently. It runs the claude command in your IDE's terminal, opens Claude's changes in the IDE diff viewer, and shares your current selection and diagnostics. It does not bundle the CLI, so in practice it is the CLI with better editor wiring.

Desktop app or VS Code extension? Decide by where you edit. If VS Code is open all day, the extension keeps Claude beside your code. The Desktop app is the better supervisor when you are running several sessions, previewing an app, or watching pull requests through CI. One limit worth knowing: when Claude lists or messages your other sessions from inside Desktop, it sees only sessions the app runs itself, not ones started from the CLI or the VS Code extension.

Web and mobile: when the laptop is closed#

Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-managed infrastructure by default and keep going after you disconnect. They are available on Pro, Max, and Team plans, and on Enterprise with premium or Chat + Claude Code seats. Start one at claude.ai/code, from the mobile app's Code tab, by choosing Cloud in Desktop, or from a terminal:

Pull a cloud session down into your terminal with --teleport. Because each session starts from a fresh clone of a GitHub repository, commit the CLAUDE.md, .claude/settings.json, .mcp.json, and skills you rely on.

Remote Control is the opposite arrangement. The session keeps running on your machine with your files, tools, and MCP servers, and claude.ai or the Claude app becomes a window into it. Start it with claude remote-control, or /remote-control inside the CLI, Desktop, or VS Code. It needs a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan (admin-enabled on Team and Enterprise), does not work with API keys or cloud providers, and stops when the local process stops.

There is no separate Claude Code phone app. The Claude app for iOS and Android has a Code tab for cloud sessions, projects, and Remote Control, and Pro and Max users can message Dispatch to start a Desktop session. We compare phone workflows in Claude Code on your iPhone.

When the other option is the better choice#

Choose the CLI over the app when…#

• The work has to be reproducible: a command you can put in a script, a Makefile, or a CI job.
• The machine has no desktop, or it is a remote box you reach over SSH.
• You need Bedrock, Foundry, dontAsk, agent teams, or the Agent SDK.
• You already have a terminal setup you like. Our guide to the best terminal for Claude Code covers the configuration that matters, from Shift+Enter to tmux.

Choose the app over the CLI when…#

• Your bottleneck is review rather than typing. Line comments on a diff, a preview pane, and a CI bar save more time than any shortcut.
• You keep three or more sessions going and want one window that shows which one finished.
• You or your teammates are not comfortable in a terminal. The Code tab needs no Node.js and no separate CLI install.
• You want scheduled tasks, Dispatch, or the iOS Simulator pane without building them yourself.

Pick by scenario#

Situation	Start with
First time using Claude Code, prefer a GUI	Desktop app
Scripting, CI, headless servers	CLI
Editing in VS Code all day	VS Code extension, plus the CLI for CLI-only features
IntelliJ, PyCharm, or WebStorm	JetBrains plugin (it runs the CLI)
Several features at once on one repository	Desktop worktree sessions, or claude --worktree per terminal
The task should keep running while you are offline	A cloud session
Fedora, Arch, Bedrock, or Foundry	CLI
Claude plus Codex or other agents	A multi-agent workspace (below)

When one provider is not enough#

Everything above assumes Claude is your only agent. Anthropic's parallel-agents guide is explicit that in each of its approaches, the workers are Claude sessions, and other tools join as MCP servers. That is a reasonable design for a first-party product, and OpenAI's counterpart has the same shape: the former Codex app now lives inside the ChatGPT desktop app and runs only Codex, as we explain in Codex app vs Codex CLI. This is where third-party workspaces come in.

Agentastic is a native macOS workspace that runs the real Claude Code CLI, launched in an isolated worktree with its own settings, skills, hooks, and MCP servers intact. It does not proxy model calls or resell capacity; you sign in with the Claude account you already have. Around the CLI it adds:

• Mixed providers. Codex, Gemini, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and the rest of 55 built-in agent definitions, plus any terminal command as a custom agent, so you can hand the same task to Claude and Codex and compare the diffs.
• Isolation beyond worktrees. A git worktree per task, Docker or Apple containers, remote SSH machines where sessions keep running after you close the Mac, and cloud agents on your own Modal, Fly.io, or Vercel Sandbox account.
• Verification. A built-in browser that agents can drive through dev browser commands to check their own UI changes.
• Independent review. Code review that runs Claude, Codex, CodeRabbit, or Greptile against the same diff.
• Operations. Notifications wired to Claude's lifecycle hooks, usage meters for several Claude and Codex logins, and an iPhone Companion app in public beta on TestFlight (iOS 18+).

The tradeoffs are real. Agentastic runs only on macOS 14 or later (Apple Silicon and Intel), it is closed source, and because it drives the CLI, Desktop-only features such as Dispatch, the Browser pane's auto-verify, and the iOS Simulator pane stay in Anthropic's app. If Claude is your only agent and the Desktop app fits, it is the simpler choice. If you run several providers or need containers and remote hosts, see Agentastic vs Claude Code Desktop and our roundup of Claude Code GUIs.

Sources and further reading#

First-party documentation, reviewed October 5, 2026:

• Platforms and integrations — Claude Code Docs
• Desktop application, including the CLI comparison section
• Get started with the desktop app and Claude Desktop on Linux (beta)
• Advanced setup and system requirements
• Use Claude Code in VS Code and JetBrains IDEs
• Use Claude Code in the cloud and Claude Code on mobile
• Remote Control
• Run parallel sessions with worktrees and Run agents in parallel
• Choose a permission mode

Continue the research:

• Best IDE for Claude Code on Mac
• How to run multiple Claude Code agents in parallel
• Claude Code vs Codex
• Codex app vs Codex CLI
• Agentastic vs Claude Code

Frequently asked questions#

Is Claude Code Desktop better than the CLI?#

Neither is better overall, because both run the same engine and share your configuration. The Desktop app is better for parallel sessions, visual diff review, and app previews; the CLI is better for scripting, CI, SSH, and CLI-only features such as agent teams and the Agent SDK.

Can I use the Claude Code desktop app and the CLI at the same time?#

Yes. Both can run on the same machine and even the same project, each with its own session list. Type /desktop in a CLI session to move it into the app, or type /resume in the app to continue a session you started in the terminal.

Does the Claude Code desktop app work on Linux?#

Yes, as a beta. Anthropic ships the desktop app for Ubuntu 22.04+ and Debian 12+ on x86_64 and arm64, and recommends the CLI on Fedora, Arch, and other non-Debian distributions. Computer use is not available in the Linux app yet.

Can Claude Code desktop run multiple sessions in parallel?#

Yes. Start new sessions from the sidebar and select the worktree option for Git repositories so each session edits its own checkout under .claude/worktrees/. The CLI does the same with claude --worktree in separate terminals.

What is the difference between the Claude Code VS Code extension and the CLI?#

The extension is a graphical panel that bundles its own copy of Claude Code, with inline diffs, plan review, and checkpoints. It exposes a subset of commands and skills and has no ! bash shortcut or tab completion, so run claude in the integrated terminal when you need a CLI-only feature.

Do I need a paid plan for the Claude Code desktop app?#

Yes. The Code tab requires a Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription. The CLI and the IDE extensions also accept a Claude Console account with prepaid API credits or a supported cloud provider.

Can I run Claude Code and Codex in the same app?#

Not in Anthropic's apps, which run Claude sessions only. A multi-agent workspace such as Agentastic runs the Claude Code CLI next to Codex and other agents, each in its own worktree.