Claude Code · Desktop · 1
Claude Code · ISTO. · Bonus session

Claude Code in the new Claude Desktop app

Part 1

Why we are moving to Desktop

Where we worked until now

Why we used Claude Code inside VS Code.

  • 1
    Several sessions at onceOne chat building the planner, another answering a question about the data.
  • 2
    More than one projectThe handbook and the brand brain open on the same afternoon.
  • 3
    Seeing the files Claude createsClick the new page and look at it straight away.
  • 4
    A file and folder explorerThe whole project as a tree: Claude Code works on folders.
  • 5
    Easy to switch to another modelCodex or another assistant opens in the same window, on the same project.

Claude Desktop has just been rebuilt. Let's see how it handles these five.

The same five, in the new Desktop

The new Claude Code Desktop covers three of the five.

  • ✓
    Several sessions at onceSplit view, and nested sessions for big jobs.
  • ✓
    More than one projectSidebar sections: every project in one window.
  • ✓
    Seeing the files Claude createsBuilt-in browser and files pane.
  • –
    A file and folder explorerNot in Desktop. Open the folder in File Explorer: it is the same folder.
  • –
    Easy to switch to another modelDesktop runs Claude only. Once you can drive Claude Code, Codex and the others work on the same project files.
What we will see today

Seven features of the new Claude Code Desktop.

Organise your work
Sidebar sectionsEvery project in one window, grouped by section. Start a new session from a project, folder already chosen.
Split viewTwo sessions side by side, both working. New session: Ctrl+N.
Follow and steer a session
Built-in browserSee the page Claude built, inside the app. Files pane for what it changed.
Side panelClaude's to-do list, plus cards: folder, how full the session is, tools and files used.
Comment on the planIn plan view, correct a step before Claude builds it.
Side chatAsk a question without stopping the main task.
Big jobs
Nested sessionsYou brief one chat. It runs several sessions for you, checks their work and reports back.
Same tool, new window

The Code tab in Desktop is the same Claude Code.

Your foldersThe same project folders on your computer.
CLAUDE.mdClaude still reads it at the start of every session.
Skills and hooksEverything you set up keeps working.
GitHubPush and pull exactly as before.

Desktop has three tabs: Chat, Cowork and Code. Today we only use Code.

Part 2

Organise your work

The sidebar

Sidebar sections keep all your projects in one window.

Watch · 4 minOpen: brand-brain-demo
1Sections: group sessions by project; drag a session into a section.
2Several projects: each session has its own folder, all in one window.
3New session in a project: start it from the project, and the folder is already chosen.
Two at once

Split view shows two sessions side by side.

Watch · 3 minOpen: brand-brain-demo
1New session: Ctrl+N.
2Open it beside the first: both keep working.
Part 3

Follow and steer a session

The result

The built-in browser shows what Claude built, inside the app.

Watch · 5 minOpen: brand-brain-demo

You: Add a card to the restock planner page that shows the date stock runs out at today's sales speed. Then show me the page.

1Built-in browser: the planner page, with the new card.
2Files pane: the files this session made or changed.
3The whole folder: open it in File Explorer. It is the same folder.
The side panel

The side panel shows Claude's plan and what it is using.

Watch · 4 minOpen: brand-brain-demo
1To-do list: Claude's plan, ticked off as it works.
2Cards: the folder, how full the session is, the tools and files it used.
3More detail: Ctrl+O shows every step.
Habit: review the plan

In plan view you can comment on Claude's plan.

Watch and suggest · 5 minOpen: brand-brain-demo

You, in plan mode: Plan how to show two styles side by side on the restock planner page.

1Read the plan Claude proposes, before anything is built.
2Comment on one step: "keep the cards that are there; put the comparison below them."
3Approve: Claude builds the plan with your comment in it.
A question on the side

A side chat answers a question without stopping the main task.

Watch · 3 minOpen: brand-brain-demo

You, in a side chat while the comparison is being built: What does "weeks of cover" mean in this project?

The main task keeps going. The side chat knows the session, and its answer stays out of the main chat.

Part 4

Big jobs: nested sessions

One coordinator, several sessions

Nested sessions: one chat runs several sessions for you.

Watch · 8 minOpen: brand-brain-demo
Main chat you talk only to this one Researchgathers the facts Copyin Este's voice Buildmakes the page

You: Make a Shopify page helper for the Light Puffer, in a new folder called product-helper. Use three sessions. Research: collect every fact about the Light Puffer from data/raw into facts.md, and list what a Shopify page needs that the data doesn't have. Copy: write the description and five tags in Este's brand voice (brand-voice.md) into copy.md. Build: one web page with a Copy button for each Shopify field and the missing facts at the top. Never show the unit cost. Check their work, then open the page.

Three sessions, three different jobs. The main chat puts them together.

Back to where we started

What we used VS Code for, now in Desktop.

  • ✓
    Several sessions at onceSplit view, and nested sessions for big jobs.
  • ✓
    More than one projectSidebar sections, one window.
  • ✓
    Seeing the files Claude createsBuilt-in browser and files pane.
  • →
    A file and folder explorerOpen the folder in File Explorer: it is the same folder.
  • !
    Easy to switch to another modelDesktop runs Claude only. Learn Claude Code and you can drive the others: Codex and the rest work on the same project files.
New in Desktop The side panel: plan and cards Comments on the plan Side chat Nested sessions
Before the last session

Your 4-minute demo, built from Desktop.

  • Today: the Code tab in Desktop, from sections to nested sessions.
  • Before the last session: open your project in Desktop and prepare your 4-minute demo there.
  • Last session: each of you shows your demo.

Questions?