I've been writing a series on how I built Refmade (part 1 is here). This post is the short version: what the app is, who it's for, and how to try it today.
What it is
Refmade is a free desktop app for Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows. You give Claude Code and Codex, the AI agents that run on your own computer, instructions in plain words in an app window instead of a terminal.
- Ask in plain words. Type what you want done and Refmade hands it to Claude Code or Codex.
- Permission prompts you can actually read. When the agent asks for permission, Refmade turns it into a plain question with buttons, like "May I delete this file?", and tells you when it can't explain a program.
- Questions with a recommended answer. When the agent needs a decision from you, it shows up as a card with an AI-recommended option. Pick it, pick another, or write your own.
- Auto mode. Let the agent keep going. It still stops to ask before deleting, overwriting, installing, sending things out, or touching files outside your folder.
- See the work as an office. Your Claude Code and Codex sessions are drawn as a small pixel office (pastel or block-game theme), read from the session records already on your machine. You can see at a glance which team is working and which one is waiting for you.
- No Refmade server in the middle. Claude Code and Codex send what a task needs to Anthropic or OpenAI under your own account. Refmade's servers receive no task content or files.
- Eight languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and French.
Who it's for
- People who pay for Claude or ChatGPT, have heard that Claude Code or Codex can do real work on their computer, and don't want to live in a terminal.
- Developers who run several agent sessions at once and want to see which one is stuck waiting on them.
What you need
- A Mac with Apple silicon (macOS 13 or later) or Windows 10/11 64-bit.
- Claude Code or Codex. If you don't have either, the app shows the one line to paste (Codex needs Node.js first). Sign-in happens in your browser.
- A Claude Pro (or higher) or ChatGPT Plus (or higher) plan, or a pay-as-you-go API key. The app itself is free.
Honest caveats
- The app isn't Apple-notarized or Windows code-signed yet. Notarization costs $99 a year and this is a free project, so the first launch of each version needs "Open Anyway" on Mac or "More info → Run anyway" on Windows. SHA-256 checksums for both installers are on the download page.
- Claude Code asks before creating or changing files. Codex can change files inside the folder you chose without asking, so keep a copy of anything important.
- The translations were made with AI help and haven't been checked by native speakers yet.
- Refmade is made by JI Lab and is not affiliated with Anthropic or OpenAI.
Try it
Download Refmade at refmade.com (free, Mac and Windows).
If it saves you some terminal time, the download page has an optional donation button toward the $99 Apple notarization fee.
What's the first job you'd hand to an agent if you didn't have to open a terminal?
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