What ClaudeDevs says changed
On 14 October 2026, ClaudeDevs said the desktop app is now much quicker to start sessions, easier for splitting work across a few, and able to show what each session is doing. The account said the new session screen keeps recent folders one click away, and that a setup can be saved as an environment — a few folders, an SSH host, or the cloud — so sessions can start there, with an optional worktree per folder. A Git worktree is a separate checkout so one session’s files do not collide with another’s. ClaudeDevs said that asking Claude to run tasks in parallel starts a nested session for each task, and that each result comes back into the main session so that thread stays readable. The account also said Claude suggests follow-up work while a task is running, and that a suggestion can become its own session in one click. It said /btw opens side questions in their own tab while the main session continues. ClaudeDevs said the sidebar shows which sessions are working and which need you, and that inside a session a live to-do follows the plan, a recap card sums up a turn that needs you, and a side rail shows where the session runs, its context, and its changes.
The quickstart describes a session as a conversation about your code, and says each session tracks its own context and changes. It tells you to open parallel sessions from the sidebar, optionally each in its own Git worktree. A tasks pane watches that session’s subagents and background commands, and a side chat asks a question while the main thread stays intact. The quickstart does not use ClaudeDevs’ names for the recent-folder screen, the saved environment with a worktree per folder, nested sessions that report back, one-click follow-ups, the live to-do, the recap card, or the side rail.
Who can use the Code tab
The Code tab is the desktop app’s coding surface: an interactive assistant with direct access to local files. Depending on the permission mode, you approve each change as Claude proposes it, or you review the changes after Claude makes them. Beside Code, Chat is general conversation with no file access, and Cowork is an autonomous background agent. For more than one session, the quickstart confirms parallel sessions opened from the sidebar, an optional Git worktree for each, a tasks pane, and a side chat. It does not use the post’s screen labels. Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription. If clicking Code prompts an upgrade, a paid plan is required first. ClaudeDevs named no app version, price, or rollout window. The quickstart gives no plan prices and links Anthropic’s pricing page.
Documented downloads are a universal macOS build for Intel and Apple Silicon, a Windows installer for x64 processors, a separate Windows ARM64 installer, and Linux desktop labeled beta, with apt or a .deb for Ubuntu and Debian.
How to try it
ClaudeDevs said to update the desktop app and start a new session, and linked the quickstart. On macOS and Windows, that page says to download the installer, run it, launch Claude, and sign in with an Anthropic account. On Linux, install with apt; the steps are on the Claude Desktop on Linux page. The desktop app includes Claude Code, so the Code tab runs without a separate Node.js or CLI install.
Then choose an environment. Local runs Claude on your machine against the folder you select. Cloud sessions continue even if you close the app. SSH connects to a remote machine and installs Claude Code there the first time you connect. A running SSH task can keep going while Desktop is disconnected, and with a Claude account it can stop when its sign-in expires. On Windows, WSL runs the session inside a WSL 2 distribution, with Claude Code, tools, and git on the Linux side using native paths.
The same first-session steps say to choose a model from the dropdown next to the send button. You can change the model later from that dropdown. Then choose a permission mode. Auto or Accept edits applies file changes for later review; the quickstart’s example is an indicator such as +12 -1 in the diff view. Manual waits for approval, and your files stay unchanged until you accept. Plan proposes an approach without editing files. Under Auto, a classifier reviews actions in the background and blocks the risky ones instead of asking you.
What is still unclear
An app version and a rollout date are absent from the post and the quickstart. “Much quicker” and “easier to split” are ClaudeDevs’ judgment, with no measurement attached. The recent-folder screen, a saved environment of several folders with a worktree per folder, nested sessions that report results back, one-click follow-ups, the live to-do, the recap card, and the side rail come from that post. The quickstart does not use those names. It documents parallel sidebar sessions, an optional Git worktree per session, a tasks pane, and a side chat, and points the full Code-tab reference to the Desktop page. Linux desktop is documented as beta.
In the changelog, a /btw side question in a non-interactive session returns a timeout error when it is still unanswered after 11 minutes. That limit is for non-interactive sessions. The note does not describe the desktop tab ClaudeDevs mentioned, and it names no app version for that session screen.
Source
Also from
Sources and editorial approach
This article relies on the ClaudeDevs post from 14 October 2026 and on Anthropic’s Claude Code desktop quickstart and changelog, both checked that day. The quickstart is the full getting-started page. The changelog notes used here do not list this session redesign, and a short older tail of that page was not part of the reading. The Desktop reference the quickstart links, and the pricing page, were not opened. The desktop app was not installed or run.