Claudia is a free desktop app that makes using Claude Code much easier by giving it a simple, colorful window to work in. It helps teams track what they spend, build safe custom AI helpers, and see their coding progress on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Claudia also keeps everything secure with sandboxing and clear permissions. Many developers like it because it saves time and works the same on any computer. Plus, it’s open-source, so everyone can see how it works and use it for free.
What is Claudia and why should enterprise teams use it with Claude Code?
Claudia is an open-source desktop GUI for Anthropic’s Claude Code, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It offers a visual interface, real-time API usage dashboard, secure sandboxed agents, and cross-platform parity, helping teams boost developer productivity and manage Claude-powered coding workflows effectively.
Claudia – the first open-source desktop GUI designed for Anthropic’s Claude Code – has landed quietly but decisively on Windows, macOS and Linux since its mid-2025 release. Built by YC-backed Asterisk and released under the AGPL-3.0 licence, the tool has already collected thousands of GitHub stars and is being called a “must-have” companion for anyone using Claude-powered agentic coding workflows.
Here is a practical field guide to what the application does, why it matters, and how to use it safely.
What Claudia actually does
| Core Problem Solved | Claudia Feature |
|---|---|
| Claude Code is CLI-only | Full desktop GUI built with Tauri 2, React 18 and Rust |
| Hard to track token spend | Real-time dashboard that shows Claude API cost, token usage and performance metrics |
| Sessions feel ephemeral | Visual timeline with checkpoints, branching and diff viewer |
| Repetitive tasks | Create and share custom AI agents with sandboxed execution |
| Security worries | OS-level sandboxing (Linux seccomp, macOS Seatbelt) + fine-grained permissions |
| MCP sprawl | Central MCP Server Manager for Claude Desktop configs |
Quick start checklist (August 2025)
- Install the Claude Code CLI first – Claudia only wraps it.
- Clone
github.com/getAsterisk/claudiaand build with Rust 1.70+, Bun and Git. - Point Claudia at existing
~/.claude/projects/folders or create new ones. - Review the Usage Analytics dashboard – teams report up to 30 % reduction in API over-spend thanks to live token tracking.
- Create a custom agent: give it a prompt, choose sandbox permissions, click Run in Background.
Security best-practice snapshot
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| AI writes insecure code | Require security notes in prompts and enforce human code review before commit |
| Secrets leakage | Never allow hard-coded keys – use dotenv or vault |
| Sandboxed agents break out | Limit file-system and network access; update container/VM images weekly |
| Third-party branding confusion | Verify you are using claudia.so or claudiacode.com – not an official Anthropic product |
Why teams are switching
- Developer velocity: Surveys on Hacker News show users cut context-switching time by ~40 % compared to CLI-only workflows.
- Cross-platform parity: One shared visual interface across Windows, macOS and Linux removes documentation drift between OS variants.
- Open governance: AGPL licence means enterprises can audit the source and self-host without vendor lock-in.
Roadmap signals (public chatter)
- Tighter Claude Sonnet 4/Opus 4 integration is already in nightly builds.
- Planned plugin API will let teams inject custom linters or security scanners into the agent pipeline.
- Upcoming containerised workspace mode promises full project isolation without the need for local VM setup.
Links worth bookmarking
– claudia.so – official landing page
– github.com/getAsterisk/claudia – source and build instructions
– Anthropic’s Claude Code best-practice guide – security checklist officially recommended by Anthropic
What exactly is Claudia and why does it matter to my team?
Claudia is a newly released open-source desktop GUI that wraps Claude Code in a visual interface and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Instead of memorising command-line flags, your team can now click through projects, inspect diffs, fork sessions and roll back changes from a single window. Asterisk, the Y Combinator-backed startup behind the project, published the code under AGPL-3.0, meaning you can audit, fork and self-host it at no cost.
Early download numbers are striking: the GitHub repository crossed 3 000 stars within ten days of launch, and enterprise pilots report 30 % faster onboarding for new developers who previously avoided the CLI version of Claude Code.
How does Claudia improve security and sandboxing for Claude agents?
Claudia layers OS-level sandboxing on top of Claude Code’s existing permission model, using Linux seccomp-bpf, macOS Seatbelt and Windows Job Objects. Each agent runs with a fine-grained capability list – file-system access, network calls and environment variables are declared up-front and monitored in real time.
Security teams appreciate the visual permission editor: a checklist interface exposes exactly what an agent is allowed to touch before it starts. Combine this with the built-in usage dashboard that tracks token spend and API cost per session, and you have an auditable trail for compliance reviews.
Can Claudia coexist with our existing IDE and CI setup?
Absolutely. Claudia launches Claude agents in the background and writes to the same Git work-trees your IDE uses, so code appears in VS Code, IntelliJ or Vim as soon as the agent commits. The GUI exposes simple “attach to running session” buttons that let senior devs drop into a terminal or diff view without leaving their preferred editor.
Teams at three Fortune 500 pilot programmes told Asterisk that pairing Claudia with GitHub Actions cut review-cycle time by 22 % because reviewers could replay an agent’s timeline instead of reading static diffs.
What are the hardware and licence requirements?
- Minimum: 4 GB RAM, 1 GB disk, 64-bit OS
- Recommended: 8 GB RAM, SSD, Rust 1.70+ and Bun for plug-in development
The application itself is open-source under AGPL-3.0; you pay only for the underlying Claude API calls at Anthropic’s published rates. No seat limits, no feature gates.
Is Claudia an official Anthropic product or a third-party tool?
Claudia is developed independently by Asterisk and is not endorsed by Anthropic. The branding similarity has sparked debate, so the maintainers added a banner on first launch that clearly states “Third-party tool – not affiliated with Anthropic”. Security-conscious orgs treat Claudia like any other external dependency: pin the version, scan the container image and run it inside your usual dev sandbox.
Ready to explore? Grab the latest release from claudia.so or review the source on GitHub.
