Claude Desktop for Linux (unofficial, CLI-powered, local-first)

Vimarsha Cooray — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:15:21 +0000

I built an unofficial desktop app for Claude on Linux because juggling browser tabs and terminal sessions wasn’t cutting it.

site: https://claudedesktop.nova64.workers.dev/
github: https://github.com/janithcooray/claude-desktop

It’s a thin wrapper around the official claude CLI—no reverse engineering or custom APIs. It uses your existing account, billing, and rate limits exactly as they are.

Features

Desktop-style interface
A proper UI with a chat sidebar, main conversation view, and file previews. It feels like a real app, not a workaround.

Two modes per chat
Chat — simple conversations, no file or system access
Cowork — attach folders and let Claude read, edit, and run code

Sandboxed by default (Linux)

Cowork runs inside a bubblewrap sandbox. Only attached folders are accessible; the rest of your home directory stays hidden.
Optional Docker and unrestricted modes are available if you want more control.

Local-first design
Everything stays on your machine:

Chats and messages stored in SQLite
Per-chat working directories
No cloud sync or hidden storage

Resumable sessions
Each chat maps to claude --resume, so conversations persist naturally across restarts.

Why I built this
The CLI is powerful, but it falls short for:

long-running conversations
switching between contexts
managing multiple sessions
working visually with files

This aims to keep the CLI’s power while making it practical for real workflows.

Status
Alpha release
Linux only (for now)
Expect rough edges
Note

This is a community project and not affiliated with Anthropic. It simply uses the official CLI under the hood.

Feedback, bug reports, and ideas are very welcome—especially around:

sandboxing
multi-project workflows
packaging (Flatpak, AppImage, etc.)

If you try it, I’d love to hear what breaks.

DEV Community: Vimarsha Cooray

Claude Desktop for Linux (unofficial, CLI-powered, local-first)