# A Claude Code Desktop alternative with Codex and Gemini CLI Claude Code Desktop is the [Code tab](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop) of Anthropic's Claude desktop app: Claude Code with a [graphical interface](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-quickstart), for working on a folder on your computer and reviewing the changes without a terminal. Moontors is an agentic development environment (ADE) that runs Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI side by side, each as its vendor's own command-line agent. ## At a glance | | Claude Code Desktop | Moontors | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | | Agents | [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-quickstart) | Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI | | Platforms | [macOS, Windows (x64 and ARM64)](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop); Linux [in beta](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-linux) (x86-64 and arm64), Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ | macOS 13+, Windows 10+ (x64), Linux (x86-64); an Android app on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moontors.mobile), the iPhone's coming soon; no build is signed yet, and macOS and Windows ask before the first open; on Windows 11, Smart App Control, when it's on, blocks unsigned apps, Moontors among them; early preview (0.x) ([Known limits](/docs/known-limits/)) | | Parallel sessions | Yes, each optionally in its own [git worktree](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop) | Yes, each optionally in its own git worktree ([Worktrees](/docs/worktrees/)) | | When the app is closed | [Cloud sessions continue](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#cloud-sessions) after you close the app; a local session followed through [Remote Control goes offline](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control#limitations) when you quit the app, and [scheduled tasks](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-scheduled-tasks) run only while the app is open | Sessions keep working in a background service ([Sessions and the board](/docs/sessions-and-board/)) | | Cloud sessions | [Yes](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop), on Anthropic-managed infrastructure | No | | Sign-in | A [Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-quickstart) plan; [no Console API key](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-linux) | A Claude subscription or an Anthropic API key, and each other agent's own ([Signing in](/docs/sign-in/)) | | Price of the app itself | Included with the plan ([pricing](https://claude.com/pricing)) | Free, with no Moontors account | ## What each has that the other doesn't Claude Code Desktop, from [Anthropic's overview](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop): - [cloud sessions](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#run-long-running-tasks-in-the-cloud), which keep running with your computer off, and [moving a local session to the cloud](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#continue-in-another-surface); - following sessions from claude.ai or the Claude app on the iPhone as well as Android, with [Remote Control](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control); - a browser pane for [app previews](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#preview-your-app), [comments on diff lines](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#review-changes-with-diff-view) that go back to Claude, [PR monitoring](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#monitor-pull-request-status), and [computer use](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#let-claude-use-your-computer) on macOS and Windows with a Pro or Max plan; - [SSH](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#ssh-sessions) and [WSL](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-wsl) sessions, and [enterprise configuration](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#enterprise-configuration). Moontors: - Codex and Gemini CLI beside Claude Code, on one board; - Claude Code with an Anthropic API key as well as a subscription; - local sessions that keep working after you quit the app, in a background service, where a Claude Code Desktop session followed through [Remote Control goes offline](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control#limitations) when you quit the app, until you bring it back; - an Android app on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moontors.mobile) that follows and answers your computer's own sessions, end to end, with no Moontors server between them; the iPhone's coming soon; - an AppImage for Linux distributions beyond Ubuntu and Debian, where Claude Code Desktop's [Linux build](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-linux) is a `.deb` for Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+; - no Moontors account. Moontors itself sends no telemetry; each agent's own usage data follows that agent's settings. See [Known limits](/docs/known-limits/) for what Moontors doesn't do yet. ## Where Claude Code Desktop is the better fit - You only use Claude Code and want Anthropic's own app, with its cloud sessions, and mobile apps for the iPhone as well as Android. - You want sessions to run in the cloud while your computer is off. - You want a browser preview and computer use inside the same app. - Your organization manages Claude through Anthropic's enterprise configuration. - You work on an ARM64 PC: Claude Code Desktop has [Windows ARM64](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop) and [Linux arm64](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-linux) builds, where Moontors builds Windows and Linux for x64 only. ## Questions ### Is there a Claude Code Desktop alternative that runs other agents? Moontors runs Claude Code beside Codex and Gemini CLI, each as its vendor's own command-line agent, on one board. Claude Code Desktop runs [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-quickstart) alone. ### Can I use Claude Code with an API key? In Moontors, yes: sign in with a Claude subscription or an Anthropic API key. See [Signing in](/docs/sign-in/). Claude Code Desktop asks for a [Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-quickstart) plan. ### Can I keep using both? Yes. Moontors signs Claude Code in apart from the Claude Code you use elsewhere, so the two keep their own sign-ins. See [Signing in](/docs/sign-in/). ### Do the sessions keep working after you quit the app? In Moontors, yes: its sessions run in a background service that keeps them working after you quit the app. In Claude Code Desktop, a local session followed through [Remote Control goes offline](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control#limitations) when you quit the app, until you bring it back, and [scheduled tasks](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-scheduled-tasks) run only while the app is open; its cloud sessions carry on. ### Do Moontors' sessions run in the cloud? No. They run on your computer, in a background service that keeps them working after you quit the app. Claude Code Desktop's [cloud sessions](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#run-long-running-tasks-in-the-cloud) run on Anthropic's infrastructure. ## Related - [What is an agentic development environment (ADE)?](/docs/what-is-an-ade/) - [How to use Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI together](/docs/how-to/claude-code-codex-and-gemini-cli-together/) - [How to run several Claude Code sessions in parallel](/docs/how-to/run-claude-code-sessions-in-parallel/)