Claude Code CLI vs the Claude Desktop App: Which Should You Use?

"Claude Code" used to mean one thing: a program you run in a terminal. Now it shows up in several places, and the Claude desktop app is the one that confuses people most, because it does two quite different jobs.

The desktop app has three tabs

Open the Claude desktop app (macOS, Windows, and a Linux beta) and you'll see:

• Chat — ordinary conversations with Claude, like claude.ai.
• Cowork — longer agentic tasks on your files and apps, aimed at non-coding work.
• Code — Claude Code, with a graphical interface.

So "Claude Code vs Claude Desktop" is really the Code tab vs the terminal CLI. And the important point is: they're the same engine. Desktop runs the same Claude Code underneath, with the same models, reading the same configuration.

What they share

Both read the same files, so your setup carries over:

• Your CLAUDE.md files (Claude Code memory)
• MCP servers configured in ~/.claude.json or .mcp.json
• Hooks, skills and settings.json permission rules
• The same models, switchable mid-session

You can run both at the same time on the same project.

What Desktop adds

The Code tab is built for working visually and in parallel:

• Several sessions side by side, each in its own Git-isolated workspace
• Visual diff review — read and comment on changes before accepting them
• App preview — your running app in a browser pane while Claude checks its own work
• Drag-and-drop panes for chat, diff, browser, terminal and a file editor
• Side questions that use the session's context without derailing it
• PR monitoring — watch a pull request through CI
• Computer use — let Claude open apps and click around (opt-in)
• Sessions that run locally, in the cloud, or over SSH on another machine

What the CLI does better

The terminal is still the place for:

• Scripting and automation — claude -p "..." in scripts, CI and cron. Desktop is interactive only. (Running Claude Code headless)
• Servers and remote machines — over SSH, in tmux, on a box with no screen. (Run Claude Code on a remote server)
• Flags like --allowedTools, --output-format and --print, which have no Desktop equivalent
• Speed, if you already live in a terminal

Side by side

	CLI (terminal)	Desktop Code tab
Engine and models	Same	Same
CLAUDE.md, MCP, hooks, skills	Yes	Yes (shared files)
Visual diffs and app preview	No	Yes
Many parallel sessions in one window	Via worktrees/tmux	Built in
Scripts, CI, -p mode	Yes	No
Works over plain SSH on a server	Yes	Via SSH sessions
Learning curve for non-developers	Steeper	Gentler

Moving a session between them

You don't have to choose once. From a CLI session, run:

/desktop

Claude saves the session, opens it in the desktop app and exits the terminal. (This works on macOS and x64 Windows when you're signed in with a Claude subscription, not with an API key.)

Going the other way: close the session in the terminal, then type /resume in the Desktop prompt box to pick it up. It's the same session, so claude --resume in the terminal still finds it afterwards. (How to resume a session)

Which should you use?

• New to coding, or prefer clicking to typing? Start with Desktop. (Claude Code for non-developers)
• Juggling several tasks and want to review diffs visually? Desktop.
• Comfortable in a terminal, automating things, or working on a server? CLI.
• Both? Fine — they share everything that matters.

And for the browser and phone, there's a third option: Claude Code on the web, which runs sessions in the cloud. (Web, desktop or terminal)

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EasySpawn runs Claude Code on a persistent server you own — reach it from the terminal, a browser or your phone, with your app and database running right next to it. See how it works or join the waitlist.

Related: Claude Code on the Web, Desktop, or Terminal · Claude Code vs the Claude Chat App · Claude Code in VS Code · What Is Claude Code?