Claude AI Download

The downloadable assets in the Claude ecosystem

Three distinct products are available to download. They serve different use cases and can all run on the same machine without conflict.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop is the general-purpose chat application. It installs as a native app on macOS and Windows, runs independently of any browser, and supports MCP server connections for extending the model with external tools. It is the right choice for non-developers who want a polished conversation interface, and for developers who want a separate window for non-coding questions while the CLI handles code work in the terminal. There is no Linux installer for Claude Desktop; Linux users access the same conversation interface through the web client.

Claude Code Desktop

Claude Code Desktop is the windowed companion to the Claude Code CLI. It adds a graphical context browser, inline diff view, and project settings panel to the agent-based coding workflow. It bundles its own CLI runtime, so a separate npm install is not required to use the desktop client — though terminal access to the claude command still needs the npm package installed globally. Available on macOS and Windows; Linux users rely on the CLI.

Claude Code CLI

The CLI is distributed as an npm package and runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is the primary interface for developer workflows — reading, editing, and running code in your project directory with the model as a coding partner. Because it ships through npm, the download and install are a single command rather than a file download followed by an install wizard.

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

For full install steps, see the install claude code hub. For version naming and checksum verification, the claude code download page has the details.

Download overview table

The table below maps each download to its supported platforms and the file type you will receive.

Download	Platforms	File type
Claude Desktop	macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel), Windows 10/11	.dmg (macOS), .exe (Windows)
Claude Code Desktop	macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel), Windows 10/11	.dmg (macOS), .exe (Windows)
Claude Code CLI	macOS, Windows, Linux (any distro with Node ≥ 18)	npm package (.tgz via registry)
Web interface	Any browser, any OS	No download required

Which download is right for your workflow

The answer depends more on how you work than on what your machine runs.

Terminal-first developers typically install the CLI only. The npm package gives the same model access as the desktop client, without the GUI overhead. Most developers who use Claude Code daily settle into a terminal-only workflow because the CLI integrates directly with their existing editor and shell setup.

Developers who prefer graphical tools often start with Claude Code Desktop and use the terminal for commit and deploy commands while the desktop client handles the AI interaction. The inline diff view is the feature most often cited as the reason to prefer the desktop client over the terminal for code review sessions.

Non-developer users are best served by Claude Desktop. It does not require Node.js, has no shell configuration, and presents a clean conversational interface with no technical setup beyond the install wizard. MCP support means it can still be extended with external tools when needed.

All three options use the same underlying models and the same account quota. There is no capability gap between the CLI and the desktop client at the model level — the differences are entirely in the interface and the workflow.

macOS install notes

For the DMG installers, mount the file by double-clicking it, then drag the app icon to the Applications folder. macOS Gatekeeper may show a security prompt on first launch because the app is downloaded rather than installed via the App Store. Right-click the app and choose Open to accept the security prompt once; subsequent launches will not prompt again.

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) users should confirm they are downloading the arm64 variant of the installer. Both Intel and Apple Silicon builds are available on the release page. The arm64 build runs natively and uses noticeably less power than the Intel version under Rosetta translation.

Windows install notes

The EXE installer offers both a system-wide install (requiring Administrator rights) and a per-user install that does not. For most individual developers the per-user install is sufficient. On managed corporate machines where you do not have admin rights, use the per-user installer and confirm the app data path is not blocked by group policy.

Windows Defender SmartScreen may show a warning on first run. This is the same prompt shown for any newly-released EXE that does not yet have a broad install history in Microsoft's telemetry. Click "More info" then "Run anyway" to proceed after confirming the file hash matches the published checksum.

For research context on the security properties of downloaded developer tools and agent runtimes, the MIT CSAIL publications on trusted execution environments are worth reviewing when setting internal download policies for a team.