Kanbell vs Claude Code Desktop: what's the difference?

If you only run Claude Code, Anthropic's own app may be all you need: Claude Code Desktop, the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, runs several Claude sessions in parallel from a sidebar, can give each one its own worktree, runs them on your computer, over SSH or in Anthropic's cloud, and comes with your paid Claude plan. Kanbell is for mixing agents and staying in the terminal: it runs the Claude Code CLI, Codex and Gemini CLI side by side, each in its own real terminal, sorted by project, with a menu bar panel for the agents waiting on you.

Claude Code Desktop facts come from Anthropic's desktop docs, get started guide, download page and pricing page, checked on November 7, 2026.

Side by side

Where Claude Code Desktop is better

• Made by Anthropic, included in your plan. The Code tab comes with every paid Claude plan, with no separate charge. Kanbell is a paid app on top of your Claude plan.
• Windows, Intel Macs and a Linux beta. Desktop runs on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows x64 and ARM64, and Ubuntu or Debian in beta. Kanbell has no Windows or Intel Mac build.
• Worktrees and review built in. Turn on Worktree before a session to work in an isolated copy, review and comment on diffs, and follow the pull request through CI. Kanbell doesn't manage worktrees and its Git panel is read-only.
• Cloud and more remote machines. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-managed infrastructure and continue when you close the app or shut down your computer, with usage counted against your plan and no separate compute charge. SSH sessions reach Linux, macOS and Windows machines. Kanbell's remote sessions are Claude Code on Linux only.
• More than a terminal. An app preview pane, a file editor, computer use, scheduled tasks, Dispatch from your phone on Pro, Max and Ultra, and sessions shown on your other devices through Remote Control.

Where Kanbell is different

• Several vendors in one window. Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI run side by side. See running Codex CLI and Claude Code side by side.
• The official CLI in a real terminal. Kanbell runs the claude command you installed, with your own Claude sign-in, in its own terminal, and reads its state, permission waits and usage. The Code tab runs its own copy of Claude Code in a graphical interface. See agents and subagents.
• Claude Code on your own server, independent of the app. On a Linux VPS, Kanbell starts Claude Code inside tmux, signed in on the machine. Close Kanbell and the agent keeps working; reopen it and Kanbell reattaches to the same session, with the questions that came in meanwhile waiting in the menu bar panel. See remote machines and running Claude Code on a remote server.
• A menu bar panel that lists the agents waiting for you, across projects, with their questions and permission requests. ⌘⇧J jumps to the next one. See answer your agents.
• A task board per project, and no account. Local or synced with GitHub Issues or GitLab, and nothing goes through a Kanbell server; see data and privacy.

Which one to choose

• You use Claude Code only, or you want Windows, cloud sessions, worktrees or nothing extra to pay: Claude Code Desktop.
• You run Claude Code next to Codex or Gemini CLI, want the CLI in a real terminal, or want Claude Code on your own Linux server, signed in on that server, to keep running however long you're away: Kanbell.

They don't exclude each other: Anthropic's docs say Desktop and the CLI can run at the same time on the same project and share CLAUDE.md, settings, hooks and MCP servers. For the other options, see which app to manage several coding agents.